Original subtitles

Narrator: IT’S THE MOST INFAMOUS VOLCANIC ERUPTION IN HISTORY.

AN ENTIRE TOWN ENGULFED IN ROCK AND ASH.

OVER 1,600 SOULS FROZEN IN TIME.

TODAY POMPEII IS ONE OF THE WORLD’S

MOST IMPORTANT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES...

A UNIQUE WINDOW INTO A LOST ROMAN WORLD.

AT THE CENTER, THE VICTIMS, CAUGHT IN THE BLAST,

THEIR LAST AGONIZING MOMENTS PRESERVED FOREVER.

Man: SEARED INTO THE MODERN IMAGINATION

IS THE DEATH OF A TOWN,

THE BODIES AND THE RUINS, THE FINAL DAY OF POMPEII.

KEY TO BRINGING POMPEII BACK TO LIFE

IS UNDERSTANDING WHO THESE PEOPLE WERE.

THESE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT INHABITED POMPEII,

AND THEY DO HAVE STORIES TO TELL.

Narrator: NOW AN INTERNATIONAL TEAM OF EXPERTS

IS USING SCIENCE AND CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY

TO REVEAL THE GHOSTS OF POMPEII LIKE NEVER BEFORE...

PEELING BACK THE LAYERS TO FIND NEW EVIDENCE

AND DISPEL OLD MYTHS...

Woman #1: THIS WAS AS MUCH A SURPRISE TO YOU

AS IT WAS TO ME?

Woman #2: ABSOLUTELY.

Narrator: INSIDE LONG LOCKED STOREROOMS AND LABS,

THEY UNCOVER NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN ARTIFACTS AND STORIES.

Man: WE FOUND THE GLADIATOR.

Narrator: WITH EXCLUSIVE ACCESS TO POMPEII’S

MOST AMBITIOUS RESTORATION PROJECT IN MODERN TIMES...

HOMES OFF LIMITS FOR DECADES ARE NOW OPENED FOR US TO SEE.

Woman: AN INSCRIPTION FOUND HERE TELLS US

THAT IT WAS SPECIFICALLY FOR THE BEST PEOPLE.

Narrator: TO UNCOVER MORE, A TEAM OF SPECIALIST ARCHITECTS,

ARMED WITH THE LATEST LASER-MAPPING TECHNOLOGY,

CREATE STUNNING DIGITAL REPLICAS OF SOME OF THE BUILDINGS

AND PRODUCE THE MOST ACCURATE AND DETAILED 3D MAP

OF POMPEII EVER MADE,

REVEALING FOR THE FIRST TIME AN UNRIVALED IMAGE

OF WHAT DAILY ROMAN LIFE WAS REALLY LIKE.

FOR WHILE WE KNOW HOW THE PEOPLE OF POMPEII DIED,

THIS IS A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME CHANCE

TO REVEAL THEIR LIFE BEFORE DEATH.

Man: POMPEII HAD A LIFE, POMPEII HAD A BIOGRAPHY.

PEOPLE POPULATED THIS CITY, PEOPLE LIVED HERE.

IT’S UP TO US TO UNDERSTAND THE LIFE OF THE CITY

AS MUCH AS WE UNDERSTAND ITS DEATH.

♪

Narrator: POMPEII, SOUTHERN ITALY.

THE HISTORIC RUINS NOT ONLY ATTRACT

MILLIONS OF VISITORS A YEAR,

BUT ALSO SCHOLARS FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

AND NOW A TEAM OF INTERNATIONAL SCIENTISTS,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS AND ARCHITECTS

IS ASSEMBLING TO TRY TO UNCOVER NEW SECRETS

ABOUT THE VICTIMS OF THIS 2,000-YEAR-OLD DISASTER.

WHAT MAKES POMPEII UNIQUE IS THESE PLASTER CASTS--

VICTIMS CAUGHT IN THE ERUPTION NOW FROZEN IN TIME.

WITH THEIR TWISTED POSES AND GHASTLY GRINS,

THEIR LAST AGONIZING MOMENTS ARE PLAIN TO SEE.

BUT UP TILL NOW, WE’VE ONLY BEEN ABLE TO GUESS

AT WHAT THEIR STORIES WERE.

IS THIS A MOTHER STILL CLINGING TO HER CHILD?

OR IS THIS A PREGNANT LADY, APPARENTLY COVERING HER EYES?

FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME THEY’RE BEING BROUGHT TOGETHER

INTO A SPECIALLY BUILT DISPLAY IN THE TOWN’S AMPHITHEATER.

♪

[HAMMERING]

WITH EXCLUSIVE ACCESS,

OUR FORENSIC TEAM WILL DIGITALLY PEEL BACK THE PLASTER,

LOOKING TO REVEAL THE VICTIM WITHIN.

Woman: IT’S AN ADVENTURE,

WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WE’RE GOING TO FIND,

AND THAT’S REALLY EXCITING.

Narrator: WHILE ARCHAEOLOGISTS EXAMINE NEW AREAS OF POMPEII

BOTH ON THE GROUND AND FROM THE AIR,

OUR EXPERT HISTORIANS INVESTIGATE LOCKED STOREROOMS

AND THE ONGOING RESTORATIONS

TO REVEAL UNSEEN BUILDINGS AND OBJECTS.

Woman: THIS ISN’T POSH FOOD. EVERYBODY’S EATING THESE.

♪

Narrator: BUT FIRST, HOW DID POMPEII AND ITS PEOPLE

END UP FROZEN IN TIME?

VOLCANOLOGIST PROFESSOR DOUGAL JERRAM

IS HEADED TO THE SOURCE OF POMPEII’S DESTRUCTION.

LOOMING OVER THE TENS OF MILLIONS

WHO LIVE IN THE BAY OF NAPLES, THIS IS MOUNT VESUVIUS,

STILL EMITTING OMINOUS FUMES.

TODAY IT’S ONE OF EUROPE’S MOST DANGEROUS VOLCANOS.

Dougal Jerram: THIS IS THE SMOKING GUN

THAT IN A.D. 79, OVER A PERIOD OF ABOUT 24 HOURS,

CHANGED THE WHOLE FACE OF VOLCANOLOGY AND ARCHAEOLOGY.

[EXPLOSION]

Narrator: ON AUGUST 24, 79 A.D.,

VESUVIUS EXPLODED IN WHAT IS NOW KNOWN AS A PLINIAN ERUPTION,

AFTER THE EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT

OF THE ROMAN HISTORIAN PLINY THE YOUNGER.

THE ERUPTION EJECTED NEARLY 10 BILLON TONS OF ASH AND ROCK

IN JUST 19 HOURS

AND RELEASED 100,000 TIMES THE THERMAL ENERGY

OF THE HIROSHIMA BOMB.

YET AT FIRST, THE DANGER WAS NOT IMMEDIATELY OBVIOUS.

Jerram: THE FIRST REMNANTS OF THAT IS A VERY, VERY THIN LAYER

OF DUST AND ASH, WHICH WOULD HAVE RAINED DOWN ON PEOPLE.

VERY SHORTLY AFTER THAT, THOUGH, THE WHOLE THING CHANGED.

A MASSIVE ERUPTION STARTED.

A COLUMN OF MATERIAL WENT UP 18 MILES UP INTO THE SKY,

FORMING A SORT OF MUSHROOM CLOUD.

THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT THESE PEOPLE WOULD NEVER HAVE SEEN

BEFORE IN THEIR LIVES, AND THEY WOULD HAVE PANICKED.

Narrator: AS THE MUSHROOM CLOUD GREW BIGGER,

IT BLOCKED OUT THE SUN, PLUNGING POMPEII INTO DARKNESS.

THE FALLING PUMICE AND ASH SLOWLY BURIED THE TOWN.

YET FOR THE FIRST 18 HOURS, ESCAPE WAS STILL POSSIBLE,

AND MANY OF POMPEII’S 12,000 RESIDENTS FLED THE CITY.

BUT WHY AT LEAST 1,600 PEOPLE STAYED PUT

IS ONE OF POMPEII’S MOST ENDURING MYSTERIES.

AS THE HUGE COLUMN OF ASH AND ROCK

CLIMBED TO NEARLY 20 MILES HIGH,

IT DESTABILIZED AND COLLAPSED,

SENDING DEADLY CLOUDS OF BURNING DEBRIS HURTLING TOWARDS POMPEII.

FOR THOSE WHO REMAINED, ESCAPE WAS NOW IMPOSSIBLE.

Jerram: NOW THESE ARE HOT MIXTURES OF ROCK, ASH, DUST,

AND HOT AIR, BILLOWING AND TURBULENTLY MIXING TOGETHER

AND CASCADING DOWN THE SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN.

[RUMBLING]

THEY’LL HAVE TEMPERATURES OF BETWEEN 200, 300,

TO MAYBE EVEN 500 DEGREES CENTIGRADE,

NEARLY 1,000 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.

Narrator: KNOWN AS A PYROCLASTIC FLOW,

THIS SEARING AVALANCHE OF DEATH KILLED EVERYTHING IN ITS PATH.

DOWN IN THE TOWN,

POMPEII’S TIMELINE OF DESTRUCTION

IS STILL CLEARLY VISIBLE.

Jerram: THIS FIRST DEPOSIT WE COME ACROSS

IS THIS WHITE PUMICE,

AND THIS IS THE ORIGINAL MAGMA

THAT WAS FEEDING THE VOLCANO AT THE TIME.

THIS BIG ERUPTION COLUMN FIRING THIS PUMICE OUT INTO THE SKY,

AND IT WAS JUST DROPPING ON PEOPLE’S HEADS.

[THUNDER]

Narrator: CONTINUING TO SEARCH,

JERRAM FINDS EVIDENCE OF THE DEADLY PYROCLASTIC FLOW.

Jerram: NOW THIS IS CLEARLY A VERY DIFFERENT DEPOSIT.

THIS MATERIAL HAS GOT LOTS AND LOTS OF BEDDING WITHIN IT.

YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE THE BEDDING CLIMBING OVER EACH ANOTHER.

THAT’S CALLED CROSS BEDDING.

THAT TELLS ME THAT THIS HAD TURBULENT CURRENT WITHIN IT.

Narrator: FOR 5 TO 6 HOURS,

MULTIPLE PYROCLASTIC FLOWS

KILLED EVERYTHING WITHIN A 10-MILE RADIUS OF VESUVIUS.

POMPEII AND ITS PEOPLE

WERE LOST UNDER 20 FEET OF PUMICE AND ASH,

WHICH QUICKLY HARDENED TO SOLID ROCK.

WITHIN 50 YEARS THE TOWN WAS FORGOTTEN,

EVEN DISAPPEARING FROM THE MAP.

BUT WHAT HAPPENED TO THE VICTIMS OF POMPEII

THAT LEFT THEM LOCKED IN PLASTER?

THE TOWN OF POMPEII LAY BURIED FOR NEARLY 1,700 YEARS,

UNTIL ITS ACCIDENTAL REDISCOVERY

PROMPTED WIDESPREAD EXCAVATIONS IN THE LATE 18th CENTURY.

ONLY THEN DID SOMETHING REMARKABLE COME TO LIGHT.

ARCHAEOLOGIST PROFESSOR KEVIN DICUS

EXPLORES A BLOCK OF RECENTLY UNEARTHED HOUSES

IN SEARCH OF SOMETHING UNIQUE TO POMPEII.

Kevin Dicus: THIS ASH SOLIDIFIED TO THIS ROCK-LIKE SUBSTANCE,

LEAVING BEHIND THESE MASSIVE VOIDS.

THIS ONE I CAN BARELY SEE THE END OF,

IT’S GOT TO BE METERS LONG,

AND TO ME IT LOOKS LIKE THE REMAINS

OF A WOODEN ROOF BEAM.

THE WOOD HAS LONG SINCE DECAYED,

BUT AN ARCHAEOLOGIST FINDING ONE OF THESE

CAN THEN FILL THIS WITH PLASTER,

EVENTUALLY PEEL AWAY THIS ROCK-LIKE ASH LAYER,

LEAVING BEHIND THE PLASTER CAST

OF WHATEVER REMAINED INSIDE HERE.

ANYTHING ORGANIC DECAYED, BE IT WOODEN ROOF BEAMS, DOORWAYS,

AND OF COURSE, THE BODIES OF ANIMALS AND PEOPLE.

Narrator: THIS PHENOMENON HAS MADE POMPEII AND ITS PEOPLE

WORLD FAMOUS.

KILLED BY THE PYROCLASTIC FLOW AND BURIED BY FALLING ASH,

THE VICTIMS’ FLESH QUICKLY ROTTED AWAY...

LEAVING BEHIND A PERFECT IMPRINT OF THEIR BODY,

ALONG WITH THEIR BONES AND TEETH.

BUT EVER SINCE EARLY ARCHAEOLOGISTS

LIKE ITALIAN GIUSEPPE FIORELLI

BEGAN TO CREATE THE GHOSTLY CASTS,

NO ONE HAS BEEN CERTAIN HOW MANY REAL HUMAN REMAINS

WERE LEFT BEHIND.

Dicus: WE HAVE THESE BODIES’

VERY FINAL MOMENT OF THEIR LIVES.

IT REALLY IS A MACABRE REMINDER OF THAT LAST DAY AT POMPEII

AND THE CHAOS AND THE PANIC OF THESE PEOPLE.

Narrator: POMPEII’S PHOTOGRAPHIC ARCHIVE HOLDS A RARE RECORD

OF THE EARLY EXCAVATIONS IN THE LATE 1800s.

AND SINCE VERY LITTLE OTHER DOCUMENTATION

ABOUT THE CASTING PROCESS SURVIVES,

THESE GRAINY IMAGES ARE A VITAL CLUE

AS TO WHAT THE CASTS MAY CONTAIN.

Dicus: FIORELLI DIDN’T CREATE THESE CASTS

WITH THE SORT OF SCIENTIFIC RIGOR

THAT WE WOULD COME TO EXPECT AND DESIRE TODAY.

THERE’S NOT MUCH DOCUMENTATION ON HOW HE DID IT.

INDEED, THESE BODY CASTS WERE MORE FOR THE SHOW,

THE EXHIBIT OF POMPEII,

FOR THE VISITORS COMING TO SEE AND BE THRILLED

BY THE DEATH OF AN ENTIRE CITY.

♪

Narrator: THIS DESIRE TO THRILL THE EARLY VISITORS TO POMPEII

HAS LED TO NUMEROUS STORIES BUILDING UP AROUND THE CASTS.

WHO WERE THEY, WHAT WAS THEIR RELATIONSHIP,

AND WHAT WERE THEY DOING IN THOSE FINAL MOMENTS?

IT’S BEEN LONG ASSUMED THAT THOSE WHO DIDN’T FLEE

COULDN’T BECAUSE THEY WERE TOO YOUNG, OLD OR INFIRM.

TODAY IT’S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO SEPARATE FACT FROM FICTION.

Dicus: WE’RE NATURALLY INCLINED TO CREATE THESE STORIES

ABOUT THESE PEOPLE.

AND WHEN WE GET TO THESE CASTS

AND WE’RE ABLE TO ANALYZE THEM AND TO SCAN THEM

AND TO SEE ACTUALLY WHAT IS INSIDE THESE REMAINS,

WE GET THIS NEW INFORMATION,

WE CAN TALK ABOUT THESE PEOPLE IN BRAND NEW WAYS.

Narrator: OVER THE YEARS THESE TWISTED, AGONIZING POSES

HAVE SPAWNED MULTIPLE STORIES ABOUT THEIR IDENTITY.

IS THIS A BEGGAR WITH HIS BEGGING BAG?

AND ARE THESE AN EMBRACING COUPLE,

CLINGING TOGETHER IN THEIR FINAL MOMENTS?

NOW OUR NEW SCIENTIFIC STUDY

IS LOOKING TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT.

FOR THE FIRST TIME,

THE CASTS WILL UNDERGO SERIOUS FORENSIC STUDY.

♪

[POWER DRILL WHIRRING]

THIS CT SCANNER,

NORMALLY USED TO DIAGNOSE DISEASE IN LIVING PATIENTS,

WILL PEER BENEATH THE PLASTER TO LOOK FOR EVIDENCE.

FORENSIC ARCHAEOLOGIST DR. ESTELLE LAZER

WANTS TO KNOW WHO THE VICTIMS REALLY WERE,

AS WELL AS WHO THEY WERE NOT.

Estelle Lazer: IT’S BECOME ACCEPTED WISDOM

THAT THESE INDIVIDUALS ALL HAVE CHARACTERS, IF NOT NAMES,

SO I FEEL THERE’S A-- NOT INTENTIONALLY--

BUT THERE’S DEFINITELY A DISRESPECT.

IF YOU SUPERIMPOSE LIVES AND PERSONALITIES

THAT THESE PEOPLE NEVER HAD,

THAT KIND OF TAKES AWAY THEIR LIVES

EVEN MORE THAN THE DISASTER DID.

MY AIM IS TO GIVE THEM BACK THE LIVES THEY ORIGINALLY HAD

AND TO LEARN A BIT MORE

ABOUT HOW THESE VICTIMS OF A MASS DISASTER

LIVED AND DIED.

Narrator: JOINING LAZER IS

WORLD FAMOUS BRITISH CLASSICIST PROFESSOR MARY BEARD.

BEARD HAS SPENT OVER 40 YEARS STUDYING POMPEII.

FOR HER, THE COLLISION OF ANCIENT AND THE HIGH TECH

IS FASCINATING.

Mary Beard: THERE’S SOMETHING VERY STRIKING

ABOUT A DEAD ROMAN OF 2,000 YEARS AGO

BEING PUT INTO A STATE-OF-THE-ART CT SCANNER.

Narrator: THE SOPHISTICATED SCANNER

TAKES A SERIES OF X-RAY SLICES

THAT ARE DIGITALLY STITCHED TOGETHER

TO CREATE A 360-DEGREE MODEL.

Beard: THE PEOPLE WHO MADE THIS CAST

WOULD JUST NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CONCEIVE OF WHAT WE CAN NOW DO.

[BEEPING]

Narrator: THE FIRST CASTS TO BE SCANNED

ARE TWO OF THE EARLIEST EVER MADE.

DISCOVERED IN THE LATE 1800s,

BOTH HAVE BUMPS IN THE STOMACH AREA,

WHICH HAVE INSPIRED STORIES ABOUT PREGNANT LADIES.

IT’S A HEARTBREAKING SCENARIO

TO THINK THAT BOTH MOTHERS AND THEIR UNBORN CHILDREN

PERISHED IN THE DISASTER.

NOW, ALMOST 2,000 YEARS LATER,

THE SCIENTISTS MAY JUST BE ON THE VERGE OF DISCOVERING

IF THESE STORIES ARE TRUE.

[SCANNER BEEPING]

♪

THE STUDY OF THE CASTS IS JUST PART OF A MUCH WIDER PROJECT

TO RESTORE THE FABRIC OF POMPEII.

SINCE EXCAVATIONS BEGAN IN 1748,

EXPERTS HAVE BEEN UNEARTHING VAST AMOUNTS OF EVIDENCE

ABOUT HOW THE ROMANS LIVED.

SO MUCH SO, THAT MOST OF WHAT WE KNOW TODAY

ABOUT THE ANCIENT ROMAN WORLD

COMES FROM POMPEII.

BUT POMPEII’S SEVEN MILLION SQUARE FEET OF RUINS

ARE UNDER THREAT FROM THE RAVAGES OF TIME, WEATHER,

AND MILLIONS OF VISITORS A YEAR.

NOW A FIVE-YEAR, $145 MILLION PROGRAM,

KNOWN AS THE GREAT POMPEII PROJECT,

IS RACING TO RESTORE AND STABILIZE THE FRAGILE RUINS.

ALL OVER POMPEII TEAMS OF EXPERTS ARE HARD AT WORK...

INJECTING THE PRECIOUS WALLS WITH RESIN TO STABILIZE THEM,

CLEANING THE DELICATE MOSAIC FLOORS,

REPAIRING ORNATE COLONNADES,

EVEN USING HIGH-TECH LASER TECHNOLOGY

TO CLEAN DIRT FROM FRAGILE MURALS.

RESTORING 2,000-YEAR-OLD DECORATIONS,

WHICH WERE PRESERVED UNDER TONS OF VOLCANIC ASH,

IS A HUGE CHALLENGE.

Ambra Tomeucci: ONE OF THE PROBLEMS THAT YOU CAN FIND

WHILE YOU RESTORE A FRESCO

IS TO TRY TO FIND THE RIGHT MATERIALS.

YOU HAVE TO FIND THE RIGHT MIXTURE

THAT CLEAN THE FRESCO

BUT NOT DAMAGE THE ORIGINAL PAINTINGS.

Narrator: OUR STUDY IS GOING A STAGE FURTHER

THAN PHYSICAL RESTORATION...

AS SPECIALIST ARCHITECTS

ARMED WITH 3D LASER SCANNING TECHNOLOGY

CREATE PERFECT DIGITAL REPLICAS OF MANY OF THE BUILDINGS.

THESE ALLOW US TO INVESTIGATE POMPEII

FROM A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE.

FLYING THROUGH SPACES, WE CAN SEE HOW THEY CONNECT.

♪

AND BY LOOKING DOWN FROM IMPOSSIBLE VIEWPOINTS,

WE CAN APPRECIATE THE SCALE AND DETAIL OF THE DECORATION.

THIS SAME TECHNIQUE IS ALSO BEING USED FROM THE AIR

TO BUILD UP THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE MAP

OF POMPEII EVER CREATED.

WITH A POPULATION OF ABOUT 12,000,

POMPEII WAS KNOWN AS AN UPMARKET ROMAN RETREAT,

WHERE THE WEALTHY VISITORS WOULD FREQUENT

ITS NUMEROUS TAVERNS, BARS, PUBLIC BATHS, AND BROTHELS.

FOR ARCHAEOLOGISTS LIKE DICUS, THESE SCANS ARE INVALUABLE

IN HELPING US UNDERSTAND HOW THE TOWN WORKED.

Dicus: IT’S VERY DIFFICULT

TO MOVE AROUND THE RUINS PHYSICALLY

AND REALLY GET A SENSE OF WHAT YOU’RE SEEING.

HERE WE HAVE A BRAND NEW WAY OF VISUALIZING THE SITE,

THREE-DIMENSIONALLY, MOVING AROUND THE SPACE

IN WAYS THAT WE CANNOT DO ACTUALLY ON THE GROUND.

WE CAN GET A SENSE OF THE SIGHTLINES OF THE HOUSES

AND THE SPACES OUTSIDE THE HOUSES.

WE GET A SENSE OF THE DECORATION IN CONTEXT.

AND WE CAN DO SOMETHING

THAT NO VISITOR COULD EVER PHYSICALLY DO.

WE CAN ACTUALLY LEAVE THE HOUSE,

RISE ABOVE AND SEE THE HOUSE IN A WIDER CONTEXT,

SEE IT IN THE CONTEXT OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD

IN WHICH IT IS SITUATED,

SEE IT IN THE CONTEXT OF THE CITY ITSELF.

Narrator: NOW, AS THE PHYSICAL RESTORATION,

ALONG WITH OUR DIGITAL SURVEY, OPENS UP NEW AREAS FOR RESEARCH,

WE’RE ALL SET TO REVEAL THE LIFESTYLES

OF POMPEII’S RICH AND FAMOUS.

POMPEII’S MASSIVE RESTORATION PROGRAM

IS OPENING UP BUILDINGS THAT HAVE BEEN CLOSED FOR YEARS.

THIS HOUSE WAS EXCAVATED IN THE 1920s.

FROM AN INSCRIPTION, WE KNOW IT ONCE BELONGED

TO AN INFLUENTIAL POLITICIAN CALLED PAQUIS PROCULUS.

HERE THE RESTORATION TEAM HAS METICULOUSLY CLEANED

AND PROTECTED THE STUNNING MOSAIC FLOOR,

SO NOW CAN WE APPRECIATE THE MAGNIFICENT DECORATIONS.

Dicus: THIS MASSIVE RESTORATION PROJECT

HAS ALLOWED US TO ENTER HOUSES

THAT HAVE BEEN CLOSED OFF FOR DECADES,

HAVE ALLOWED US TO SEE ART AND MOSAICS

IN AN ENTIRELY NEW LIGHT.

Narrator: AS PART OF POMPEII’S ELITE,

WE CAN IMAGINE PROCULUS

ENTERTAINING HIS IMPORTANT FRIENDS IN THIS LAVISH ATRIUM,

PROTECTED BY HIS FEARSOME GUARD DOG.

[DOG GROWLS AND BARKS]

Dicus: I’VE BEEN WORKING AT POMPEII FOR TEN SEASONS,

AND I MYSELF HAVE NEVER BEEN IN THIS HOUSE,

AND I CAN ONLY IMAGINE BEING AN ANCIENT VISITOR,

SEEING THIS ABSOLUTELY OVERWHELMING ATRIUM,

THE RICHLY PAINTED WALLS WITH THE HUES OF RED AND YELLOW,

AND OF COURSE THIS MOSAIC THAT COVERS THE ENTIRE ATRIUM FLOOR.

Narrator: USING OUR SCANS, WE CAN NOW APPRECIATE

THE BEAUTY AND SCALE OF THIS FLOOR.

AND ONCE THROUGH THE HOUSE,

WE ARRIVE AT THIS ELEGANT COURTYARD,

LEADING TO THESE BRIGHTLY COLORED ROOMS.

♪

RISING UP WE CAN SEE THAT PROCULUS’S HOUSE

IS CENTRALLY LOCATED IN AN UPMARKET PART OF TOWN.

[SCANNER BEEPING]

BACK IN THE INVESTIGATION, THE FIRST SCAN RESULTS ARE IN.

THE FIRST TWO CASTS

HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ASSUMED TO BE EXPECTANT MOTHERS.

IT’S HEARTBREAKING TO THINK HOW HEAVILY PREGNANT WOMEN

MIGHT HAVE DESPERATELY TRIED TO ESCAPE THE ERUPTION.

NOW FOR THE FIRST TIME,

OUR EXPERTS ARE HOPING THE SCANS WILL REVEAL THE SKELETONS

AND PERHAPS EVEN THE REMAINS OF AN UNBORN CHILD.

BUT THE RESULTS ARE STARTLING.

Lazer: IT’S PRETTY MUCH EMPTY.

Beard: THIS WAS AS MUCH OF A SURPRISE TO YOU

AS IT WAS TO ME.

Lazer: ABSOLUTELY. YOU NEVER EXPECT TO FIND THAT.

Narrator: VERY LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE EXACT PROCESS

USED BY THE 19th CENTURY ARCHAEOLOGISTS

TO PRODUCE THE CASTS.

AND NOW THE OBVIOUS QUESTION IS WHERE ARE THE BONES?

LAZER IS SURE THIS CAST IS NOT A FAKE,

BECAUSE BONE FRAGMENTS DO STILL REMAIN IN ONE OF THE HANDS.

Lazer: WHAT GAVE ME HOPE WHEN WE FIRST TOOK IT TO THE CT SCANNER

WAS THERE ARE ACTUALLY SOME OF THE HAND BONES STILL IN SITU.

Narrator: BUT THE RESULTS OF THE SECOND CAST

MAY SHED SOME LIGHT ON THIS NEW MYSTERY.

AGAIN, ALMOST COMPLETELY EMPTY OF BONES,

THIS TIME THE SKELETON HAS BEEN REPLACED BY IRON RODS.

Lazer: WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING AT

ARE A SERIES OF RODS AND BRACKETS

THAT ARE ACTING AS REINFORCING,

ESPECIALLY AROUND THE HIPS AND THAT.

I ASSUME THEY COULDN’T CAST IT, SO THEY’VE REINFORCED IT,

AND WE JUST DON’T KNOW,

BECAUSE IT HASN’T BEEN DOCUMENTED WELL ENOUGH

TO KNOW HOW CREATIVE A RESTORATION WE’RE LOOKING AT.

Narrator: WITH NO REAL BONES INSIDE EITHER OF THESE CASTS,

IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO SAY IF THESE WERE EVEN WOMEN,

LET ALONE PREGNANT.

AND THE BUMPS COULD JUST BE THEIR BUNCHED-UP CLOTHING.

BUT THE DISCOVERY OF THE RODS REWRITES THE STORY

OF HOW THE CASTS WERE ORIGINALLY MADE.

LAZER NOW THINKS THE 19th CENTURY ARCHAEOLOGISTS

STRUGGLED TO KEEP THE FRAGILE PLASTER TOGETHER

DURING THE CASTING PROCESS.

SO, TO PRESERVE THE FORM OF THE VICTIMS,

THEY REPLACED THE BONES WITH METAL REINFORCING RODS

BEFORE POURING LIQUID PLASTER.

FOR MARY BEARD, THIS APPROACH TO THE HUMAN ARCHAEOLOGY

FITS RIGHT IN WITH THE WAY THE WHOLE OF POMPEII

HAS BEEN EXCAVATED AND RESTORED.

Beard: YOU GO ROUND POMPEII NOW,

AND YOU GET THE IMPRESSION THAT YOU ARE WALKING INTO A HOUSE,

AND IN A SENSE YOU ARE, IT IS AS THE HOUSES WERE,

BUT IF YOU SEE PICTURES OF WHAT THEY LOOKED LIKE

WHEN THEY WERE EXCAVATED,

I MEAN, THEY LOOKED LIKE HOUSES

THAT HAD BEEN DESTROYED BY A VOLCANO.

AND IN A WAY I SUPPOSE THESE CASTS ARE A BIT THE SAME.

THAT IS, THEY REALLY ARE THE VICTIMS,

BUT IN ORDER TO PRESENT THEM TO US AS THE VICTIMS,

YOU HAVE TO DO MORE WORK ON THEM THAN...

THAN I THINK PEOPLE LIKE TO IMAGINE.

Narrator: WHAT’S NOW BECOMING APPARENT

IS THAT UNCOVERING THE TRUTH ABOUT LIFE IN POMPEII

IS A SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGE.

BUT UNDERSTANDING THE TRUE NATURE

OF THE PROBLEMS FACED BY THE EARLY EXCAVATORS

IS A VALUABLE FIRST STEP.

♪

POMPEII WAS A PROVINCIAL SMALL TOWN,

AND LIKE MANY SMALL TOWNS IN AMERICA,

IT WAS BUILT ON A GRID SYSTEM.

OUR AERIAL SCANS CAN NOW REVEAL

POMPEII’S ORGANIZED AND WELL-PLANNED ANATOMY.

Dicus: NOW, THIS 3D PERSPECTIVE FROM ABOVE

GIVES US A REALLY GOOD SENSE

OF HOW A ROMAN PROVINCIAL TOWN WAS PLANNED.

WE CAN SEE VERY CLEARLY THE OUTLINE

OF THE FORTIFICATION WALL,

WE SEE THE ZONING INSIDE THIS TOWN,

WITH MAJOR THOROUGHFARES CRISSCROSSING,

RUNNING TOWARD THE CITY GATES.

FURTHER ALONG TO THE WEST, WE HAVE THE CLASSIC ROMAN FORUM.

THIS WAS THE POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND RELIGIOUS PART

OF A ROMAN TOWN.

♪

TO THE EAST OF THE CITY,

THE GRAND PALAESTRA, THE CITY PARK,

WHERE PEOPLE COULD CONGREGATE, EXERCISE.

AND RIGHT NEXT DOOR, THE AMPHITHEATER,

WHERE GLADIATORIAL COMBAT TOOK PLACE.

[CROWD CHEERING]

Narrator: POMPEII’S AMPHITHEATER IS THE OLDEST SURVIVING

FROM THE ENTIRE ROMAN WORLD.

AS THE TOWN’S HUB,

IT’S WHERE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF ORDINARY ROMANS

WOULD GATHER, EXPECTING TO SEE BLOOD.

ROMAN HISTORIAN ANDREW WALLACE-HADRILL

RETRACES THEIR STEPS.

IN THE ENTRANCE TUNNEL HE FINDS AN INSCRIPTION

THAT MAKES A PROUD BOAST OF WHAT LAY AHEAD.

Andrew Wallace-Hadrill: AND THEY DESCRIBE IT HERE

AS SPECTACULA, A PLACE OF SPECTACLE.

IT’S DEDICATED "IN PERPETUOM," IN PERPETUITY.

THAT’S QUITE A DANGEROUS THING TO PUT UP IN AN INSCRIPTION.

HOW CAN YOU GUARANTEE PERPETUITY?

WELL, THANKS TO VESUVIUS,

THIS AMPHITHEATER HAS GAINED SOMETHING QUITE LIKE PERPETUITY

2,000 YEARS LATER.

Narrator: TODAY THE CROWDS FLOCK HERE

TO SEE THE CASTS IN THE PYRAMID DISPLAY.

[CROWD CHEERING]

BUT 2,000 YEARS AGO, THE ARENA WOULD HAVE BEEN PACKED

WITH OVER 20,000 ROMANS BAYING FOR BLOOD.

ALONG WITH FIGHTING EACH OTHER,

THE GLADIATORS WOULD HAVE SLAYED WILD BEASTS,

LIKE WOLVES AND DEER FOUND IN THE SURROUNDING HILLS,

ALTHOUGH THE HOLLYWOOD IMAGE OF GLADIATORS

BATTLING LIONS AND TIGERS

IS A LITTLE FAR-FETCHED FOR PROVINCIAL POMPEII.

Wallace-Hadrill: DOWN HERE, WHERE THERE’S CRUNCHY GRAVEL TODAY,

THERE WAS SAND IN ANTIQUITY-- "ARENA," THE ARENA.

THAT IS WHAT YOU NEED TO MOP UP THE BLOOD

OF THE GLADIATORS, THE WILD BEASTS.

Narrator: THE GAMES WERE FREE AND DESIGNED FOR EVERYONE.

ORGANIZED AND PAID FOR BY LOCAL POLITICIANS

IN RETURN FOR POLITICAL FAVOR,

THEY ATTRACTED THE COMPLETE SOCIAL MAKEUP OF POMPEII.

Wallace-Hadrill: THESE ARE THE VERY BEST SEATS

IN THE AMPHITHEATER.

THIS WHERE YOU WANT TO BE--

CLOSE TO THE ACTION, CLOSE TO THE FRONT,

AND THE POSHEST PEOPLE IN TOWN GET THEIR OWN ENCLOSURE.

THERE THEY ARE WITH THIS WONDERFUL VIEW,

ENJOYING THE SPECTACLE,

BUT THEY ARE ALSO THE SPECTACLE THEMSELVES.

THEY COME HERE NOT JUST TO SEE, BUT TO BE SEEN.

Narrator: BUT WHILE THE FAT CATS ENJOYED RINGSIDE SEATS,

IT WAS UP AT THE BACK THAT YOU WOULD FIND THE REAL POMPEIIANS.

HERE THE EVERYDAY WORKING MAN WITH HIS FAMILY

WOULD MAKE THE MOST NOISE AS THINGS GOT GORY.

Wallace-Hadrill: WHAT WE CAN SEE IS BLOOD,

YOU CAN SEE THE BLOOD SPLASHING ON THE SAND.

THE EXCITEMENT OF HAVING 10,000 PEOPLE

WATCHING THE FIGHT TOGETHER,

AND, YOU KNOW, THEY ARE FOLLOWING EVERY MOMENT,

AND THEN SOMEONE STANDS UP TO SEE BETTER,

AND EVERYONE STANDS UP,

AND YOU’VE GOT A MASS OF PEOPLE IN A STATE OF HIGH EXCITEMENT.

Narrator: IN A SMALL TOWN LIKE POMPEII,

GLADIATORS FIGHTING TO THE DEATH WAS PROBABLY RARE.

AS HIGHLY TRAINED ATHLETES, THEY WERE TOO EXPENSIVE TO WASTE.

THESE GAMES WERE ORGANIZED MORE LIKE PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING,

PURELY FOR ENTERTAINMENT.

[SWORDS CLASH, MAN SCREAMS]

[CROWD CHEERS]

YET LIFE FOR A GLADIATOR WAS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND BRUTAL.

SERIOUS INJURY AND DEATH WERE PART OF THE JOB DESCRIPTION.

IN ONE OF POMPEII’S ARCHAEOLOGICAL STORAGE ROOMS

WE FIND THE ANONYMOUS SKELETAL REMAINS

OF SOME OF THE 1,600 VICTIMS.

PROFESSOR OF ANATOMY MACIEJ HENNEBERG

SEARCHES FOR A SKELETON

HE THINKS BEARS THE SCARS OF A FIGHTING MAN.

Maciej Henneberg: YEAH, THESE ARE ALL SKULLS.

HOW ABOUT THIS?

THIS LOOKS LIKE A COMPLETE, LOOKS LIKE A COMPLETE SKELETON.

OOH-HOO, YES, THAT IS THE MAN.

WELL, HERE WE HAVE A SKULL.

WE CAN TELL IT’S THE SKULL OF A MAN,

BECAUSE OF HIS VERY LARGE ATTACHMENT

OF THE STRONGEST MUSCLE OF THE NECK.

Narrator: DECODING THE BONES

SHOWS HENNEBERG THE LEVEL OF PUNISHMENT THIS MAN ENDURED.

Henneberg: BONE REFLECTS WHAT STRESSES ARE PUT ON IT.

AND OBVIOUSLY IF SOMEBODY PUTS MORE STRESS

BY FIGHTING WITH SWORDS AND SPEARS,

THERE WILL BE MORE BONE REMODELING.

Narrator: HENNEBERG COMPARES THE SIZE

OF LEFT AND RIGHT ARM BONES.

THE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE SUGGESTS

THESE ARE THE BONES OF A CHAMPION.

Henneberg: LOOK, LEFT AND RIGHT BONES OF THE SAME PERSON.

THEY DIFFER AS MUCH AS NOW THEY DIFFER IN ROGER FEDERER.

Narrator: ALTHOUGH PERHAPS HIS VICTORIES

DIDN’T COME WITHOUT COST.

Henneberg: HERE WE HAVE A RIGHT RIB,

AND IT HAS TWO HEALED FRACTURES--

ONE HERE ON THE SIDE OF THE CHEST,

AND ONE HERE CLOSER TO THE FRONT OF THE CHEST,

CAUSED BY A BLOW WITH A BLUNT BIGGER OBJECT.

Narrator: EVERY PART OF THE GLADIATOR’S SKELETON

REVEALS HE WAS A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH.

THIS OVERDEVELOPED ARM BONE IMPLIES HE DEALT A HEAVY BLOW.

Henneberg: THIS SPUR IN MOST PEOPLE NEVER DEVELOPS.

THIS MOVEMENT MUST HAVE BEEN VERY STRONGLY EXERCISED.

Narrator: WITH ALL THIS STRENGTH,

IT’S EASY TO IMAGINE OUR GLADIATOR AS A TOWERING GIANT.

Henneberg: WHEN WE MEASURED THOSE BONES,

HE WAS 20 CENTIMETERS SHORTER THAN I AM,

SO IF HE WOULD--IF WE WERE LOOKING FACE TO FACE,

HE WOULD BE LOOKING AT ME LIKE THIS.

Narrator: AT JUST 5 FOOT, 2 INCHES,

OUR GLADIATOR WAS SHORT, BUT UNDOUBTEDLY FORMIDABLE.

HE AND THE GLADIATORIAL GAMES WERE AN INTEGRAL PART OF LIFE

HERE IN POMPEII.

OUR SCANNING TEAM IS ABOUT TO INVESTIGATE

THE MOST POIGNANT SET OF POMPEII’S CASTS.

AS THE ERUPTION INTENSIFIED,

A GROUP THAT LOOKS LIKE A FAMILY TOOK SHELTER IN A BASEMENT,

ONLY TO BE BURIED IN ASH.

BUT ARE THEY REALLY A FAMILY,

AND COULD THEIR CASTS CONTAIN THE EVIDENCE TO PROVE IT?

IN THE ANCIENT ROMAN TOWN OF POMPEII,

A MAJOR FORENSIC STUDY IS LOOKING TO UNCOVER THE TRUTH

ABOUT SOME OF THE VICTIMS.

ONE OF THE MOST POIGNANT GROUPS OF VICTIMS

WAS DISCOVERED HUDDLED TOGETHER IN THIS BASEMENT,

PERHAPS ASSUMING IT WAS THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE

AS THE TOWN WAS ENGULFED IN VOLCANIC ASH AND ROCK.

THE STORY GOES THERE WAS A MIDDLE-AGED COUPLE,

WITH MOM STILL CLUTCHING HER YOUNG CHILD,

AND MOST HEARTBREAKING OF ALL, A TODDLER,

THE TINY CAST A MOVING REMINDER

OF THE INDISCRIMINATE NATURE OF DISASTER.

Beard: WHEN YOU LOOK STRAIGHT AT ITS FACE,

YOU NOTICE IT’S GOT SORT OF CHUBBY BABY LIPS,

I MEAN, IT’S LOOKING RIGHT AT YOU.

AND YOU HAVE TO HAVE A HEART OF STONE

NOT TO BE, YOU KNOW, REALLY TOUCHED BY THIS.

Lazer: THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST POIGNANT PIECES,

BECAUSE IT’S VERY EVOCATIVE,

WE’VE GOT A VERY SMALL CHILD WHO DIED IN THIS DISASTER

WELL BEFORE ITS TIME.

Narrator: WITH THE IMPRINT OF THE TODDLER’S CLOTHING

STILL CLEARLY VISIBLE,

BEARD IS INTRIGUED BY THE STRANGE BLOB

ON THE CHILD’S CHEST.

Beard: I MEAN, THIS HERE, WHAT I’M QUITE INTERESTED IN

IS FINDING OUT IS THAT HIS BELT, OR HER BELT, WHICH HAS COME UP?

IS THAT A CLASP?

Lazer: WE DON’T KNOW. WE’LL WAIT AND SEE.

[SCANNER BEEPING]

Narrator: AS OUR TODDLER SLIDES INTO THE CT SCANNER,

WE CAN START TO THINK ABOUT THE LIFE OF A CHILD IN POMPEII.

BUT WITH VERY LITTLE IN THE WAY OF CHILDREN’S TOYS OR CLOTHES

EVER FOUND AMONG THE RUINS,

ARCHAEOLOGIST DR. KATHERINE HUNTLEY

THINKS SHE CAN FIND CLUES AS HOW POMPEII’S CHILDREN LIVED

BY EXAMINING THE TOWN’S ANCIENT WALLS.

Katherine Huntley: NOW, WE ASSOCIATE GRAFFITI

WITH POVERTY, WITH CRIME,

WITH DEGRADATION,

BUT IN THE ANCIENT WORLD

WHERE PAPER WASN’T READILY AVAILABLE,

IT WAS AN IMPORTANT FORM OF COMMUNICATION AND EXPRESSION.

Narrator: FOR HUNTLEY, GRAFFITI CAN CONNECT US

WITH SOME OF POMPEII’S LOST VOICES.

Huntley: HERE WE HAVE AN EXAMPLE OF ANCIENT TAGGING.

FAUSTUS HAS WRITTEN HIS NAME...

AND DOWN HERE, AURELIUS.

Narrator: WHILE IT LOOKS LIKE OLDER POMPEIIANS

WERE USING GRAFFITI LIKE WE USE TEXTING AND FACEBOOK,

HUNTLEY FINDS AN IMAGE THAT CAN ONLY HAVE BEEN SCRATCHED

BY POMPEII’S MOST ELUSIVE GROUP--KIDS--

AS SURELY THIS LITTLE GUY CAN ONLY HAVE BEEN MADE

BY THE HAND OF A YOUNG CHILD.

Huntley: KIDS ACROSS TIME AND SPACE

DRAW THE SAME WAY.

HOW THEY DRAW IS LINKED TO THEIR COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT,

AND SO THE CHILD IS EMPHASIZING WHAT IS IMPORTANT.

AND SO THAT’S WHY THE HEAD IS THE MAIN FOCUS.

KIDS ALSO REALLY LIKE TO DRAW THINGS THAT RADIATE OUTWARD.

Narrator: FOR HUNTLEY, THE LOCATION OF THIS GRAFFITI

CAN TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT WHAT CHILDHOOD IN POMPEII WAS LIKE.

Huntley: OUT OF ALL THE CHILDREN’S GRAFFITI IN POMPEII,

MORE THAN HALF OF IT IS FOUND IN PUBLIC SPACES,

SHOWING THAT KIDS HAD ACTIVE LIVES

OUTSIDE OF THE HOUSE

AND THEY WEREN’T BOUND TO DOMESTIC SPACES.

Narrator: BACK IN THE INVESTIGATION,

THE TWISTED NATURE OF THE CASTS

MEANS NOT ALL WILL FIT INTO OUR CT SCANNER.

SO ESTELLE’S TEAM HAS DECAMPED

TO WHERE THE CASTS ARE ON DISPLAY.

Lazer: YEAH, IT’S REALLY GOOD.

Narrator: HERE THEY CAN FOCUS ON THE REST OF FAMILY GROUP--

THE FATHER AND THE MOTHER, WHO IS STILL HOLDING A YOUNG CHILD.

THE TEAM IS MADE UP OF A RADIOGRAPHER,

A FORENSIC DENTIST AND A FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST.

THEY’RE ALL VETERANS OF MODERN MASS TRAGEDIES,

LIKE THE 2002 BOMBINGS IN BALI AND THE INDONESIAN TSUNAMI.

Lazer: WE’RE LOOKING FOR THE SAME KINDS OF FEATURES

THAT WE’D LOOK FOR

IF WE WERE LOOKING AT A MODERN MASS DISASTER.

SO WE WANT TO IDENTIFY INDIVIDUALS,

WE WANT TO FIND OUT WHAT SEX THEY WERE,

WHAT AGE THEY WERE WHEN THEY DIED.

Man #1: WHAT ARE WE DOING? Man #2: PELVIS.

Narrator: THIS HIGH-POWERED PORTABLE X-RAY ALLOWS THE TEAM

TO FOCUS ON VERY SPECIFIC PARTS OF THE CASTS.

Stijn Luyck: BONE IS WHITE, SOFT TISSUE IS MORE GRAY,

METAL IS GOING TO BE COMPLETELY WHITE,

BECAUSE HARDLY ANYTHING GOES THROUGH IT.

Narrator: BUT THE DENSE PLASTER IS PROVING PROBLEMATIC.

Lazer: IT’S ALL WITHIN THE FRAME,

BUT THE PLASTER IS REALLY THICK, YOU CAN’T SEE IT.

Luyck: THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IS THAT BONE AND PLASTER

HAVE THE SAME DENSITY,

SO WHAT YOU’RE TRYING TO FIND IS PLASTER IN PLASTER.

Narrator: WITHOUT THE COMPLETE SKELETONS,

ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO AGE THE VICTIMS IS THROUGH THEIR TEETH.

Alain Middleton: BECAUSE OF THE RATE OF DEVELOPMENT,

WHICH IS FAIRLY CONSISTENT

ACROSS DIFFERENT POPULATION GROUPS

AND DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHIC AREAS,

IT’S SURPRISINGLY CONSISTENT,

AND YOU GET VERY ACCURATE RESULTS.

Narrator: ALTHOUGH THE CASTS OF THE MOTHER AND FATHER

CONTAIN ONLY A FEW REAL BONES,

BOTH SETS OF TEETH ARE COMPLETE.

DENTAL ANALYSIS NOW SUGGESTS THAT BOTH PARENTS

WERE PROBABLY YOUNGER THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT,

PERHAPS JUST INTO THEIR 20s.

AND THE YOUNG CHILD STANDING ON THE MOTHER’S CHEST

ALSO CONTAINS ITS TEETH,

ALTHOUGH DURING THE CASTING PROCESS,

THEY HAVE BECOME DISLODGED AND NOW REST AROUND WAIST LEVEL.

Lazer: THIS IS THE LOWER JAW OF THE CHILD.

Beard: AND THEY LOOK, THEY LOOK A BIT, UM...

RICKETY, CROOKED.

Lazer: THEY ARE VERY CROOKED TEETH.

Beard: SO THIS KID HAD NOT GONE TO THE ORTHODONTIST.

Lazer: ABSOLUTELY NOT.

Narrator: IT’S AN EXCITING RESULT.

IT MEANS THAT WE CAN NOW GET CLOSER

TO THE CHILD’S AGE AT DEATH.

Lazer: IT’S BEEN SUGGESTED THAT THIS CHILD

WAS FIVE OR SIX YEARS OF AGE.

Beard: BECAUSE IT’S GOT SOME BABY TEETH AND SOME ADULT TEETH.

Lazer: IT DOESN’T SEEM TO HAVE LOST THE BABY TEETH YET.

[SCANNER BEEPING]

Narrator: BUT THE REAL DISCOVERY

IS IN THE CT SCANS OF THE TODDLER.

♪

DIGITALLY PEELING AWAY THE PLASTER,

WE CAN NOW SEE INSIDE THIS TINY, EVOCATIVE CAST.

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OUR STUDY

THE ORIGINAL 2,000-YEAR-OLD BONES ARE CLEARLY VISIBLE.

IT’S A SIGNIFICANT AND HAUNTING FIND.

Lazer: YOU CAN SEE THE LEG BONES,

YOU CAN SEE THE VERTEBRAE,

AND YOU CAN SEE THE SKULL REALLY WELL.

Narrator: ANALYSIS OF THE TODDLER’S LEG AND FOOT BONES

REVEALS ITS RATE OF DEVELOPMENT.

LAZER CAN NOW DETERMINE THE CHILD’S AGE AT DEATH.

Lazer: THE TARSAL BONES START TO OSSIFY AROUND THREE.

Beard: AH, SO YOU DON’T REALLY GET YOUR FOOT BONES

UNTIL YOU’RE ABOUT THREE,

SO THIS KID IS ON THE WAY?

Lazer: YUP.

Narrator: BACKED UP BY DENTAL ANALYSIS,

LAZER CAN BE VERY SURE OF HER FINDINGS.

Lazer: AND THAT’S THE CROWN.

Beard: THAT’S THE CROWN OF WHAT WILL BE...

Lazer: A MOLAR.

Beard: A MOLAR, BUT IT HAS NOT YET COME THROUGH.

SO THOSE ARE THE BABY TEETH,

AND THESE ARE WHAT’S FORMING IN THE GUM.

Lazer: MM-HMM.

Beard: SO THAT’S PUTTING HIM AROUND THREE?

Lazer: ROUND ABOUT THREE.

Narrator: KNOWING THE AGE OF THIS CHILD SEEMS A SIMPLE THING,

BUT LOOK AT IT THIS WAY--

AT THREE YEARS OLD,

THIS KID WOULD ONLY JUST BE OUT OF DIAPERS.

INSTANTLY IT SEEMS MUCH MORE HUMAN.

AND NOW WE CAN ALSO REVEAL

WHAT THAT BLOB ON THE CHEST REALLY IS.

Beard: SO THAT IS, IT IS A BROOCH?

IT’S A PIN, IS IT?

Lazer: IT LOOKS LIKE A FASTENING OF SOME SORT.

Beard: I’M REALLY PLEASED WITH THAT,

BECAUSE FROM THE OUTSIDE

IT LOOKED AS IF THERE WAS A CLASP OR SOMETHING,

AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT IT SEEMS TO BE.

PRESUMABLY IT’S A CASE OF EVERYTHING HAVING GOT PUSHED UP,

AND WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN AROUND THE KID’S WAIST

HAS ENDED UP THERE.

Lazer: EXACTLY.

Narrator: THIS CLASP WAS PROBABLY SOME KIND OF BELT

OR CLOTHES FASTENING--

A SIMPLE, EVERYDAY OBJECT

WHICH BRINGS US MUCH CLOSER TO THIS TINY VICTIM.

Beard: THE BIG QUESTION HAS ALWAYS BEEN, FOR ME,

WHETHER HE BELONGED, REALLY, TO THE SO-CALLED MOTHER,

SO-CALLED FATHER AND SO-CALLED CHILD.

BUT YOU RATHER HOPE HE IS WITH THEM,

BECAUSE OTHERWISE HE’S ON HIS OWN.

Lazer: OF COURSE YOU DON’T WANT TO IMAGINE THAT THIS POOR CHILD

WAS ALL BY THEMSELVES.

Beard: NO, YOU DO WANT HIM WITH HIS MUM AND DAD, DON’T YOU?

Narrator: THE STUDY OF OUR FAMILY GROUP

MAY NOT HAVE CONFIRMED THEIR TRUE RELATIONSHIP.

BUT THE ADULTS HAVE PROVED TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY YOUNGER

THAN ORIGINALLY THOUGHT.

AND THROUGH THESE POWERFUL CT IMAGES,

WE’VE GOTTEN CLOSER TO IMAGINING AN EVERYDAY FAMILY.

YET THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE MANY GHOSTS OF POMPEII.

OTHERS, LIKE THE BEGGAR, THE MOOR,

AND THE EMBRACING COUPLE

WILL SOON START TO REVEAL THEIR SECRETS.

♪

♪

AND IT’S NOT JUST THE PEOPLE OF POMPEII,

BECAUSE NEW LASER SCANS OF ITS BUILDINGS

CAN NOW HELP REVEAL THIS LOST WORLD.

IN THE SOUTHEAST CORNER LIES WHAT LOOKS LIKE

SOME OF POMPEII’S MOST PRIME REAL ESTATE.

PROFESSOR KEVIN DICUS STUDIES THIS GRAND-LOOKING URBAN VILLA

FROM THE AIR.

Dicus: IT IS PRIME PROPERTY.

IT’S LOCATED ON ONE OF THE MOST HEAVILY TRAVELED ROADS

OF THE CITY,

LOCATED ALSO NEXT TO THE CITY GATE,

AND TO THE SOUTH, THE AMPHITHEATER.

Narrator: SPREAD OVER TWO ACRES,

ITS MULTIPLE TWO-STORY BUILDINGS CAME COMPLETE

WITH A LARGE GARDEN, SWIMMING POOL

AND PRIVATE VINEYARD.

EASY TO GUESS THEN THAT THIS WAS A RICH PRIVATE HOUSE.

BUT DICUS THINKS IT’S THE PRIME LOCATION

THAT IS A CLUE TO ITS REAL PURPOSE.

Dicus: THIS WAS A GREAT LOCATION

TO ATTRACT BOTH POMPEIIANS FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE,

AS WELL AS PEOPLE COMING

FROM THE COUNTRYSIDE INTO THE CITY

TO CONDUCT BUSINESS

OR PERHAPS WATCH THE GLADIATORIAL COMBAT

IN THE NEIGHBORING AMPHITHEATER.

Narrator: THIS WAS ONE OF POMPEII’S MOST SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSES--

A KIND OF DAY SPA AND LEISURE COMPLEX

CATERING FOR POMPEII’S RICH.

ALTHOUGH CLOSED FOR EXTENSIVE RESTORATION,

WE CAN NOW STEP BACK IN TIME,

AND WITH THE HELP OF OUR LASER SCANS,

REVEAL WHO WOULD HAVE VISITED HERE 2,000 YEARS AGO.

DR. SHELLEY HALES IS AN EXPERT IN ROMAN ARCHITECTURE.

Shelley Hales: WE KNOW A BIT ABOUT WHAT KIND OF CLIENTELE

THE OWNER WAS TRYING TO INVITE,

BECAUSE AN INSCRIPTION FOUND HERE TELLS US

THAT IT WAS SPECIFICALLY FOR THE BEST PEOPLE.

Narrator: THE EXCLUSIVE GUESTS WOULD ARRIVE

VIA THIS ELEGANT COURTYARD,

BEFORE ENTERING THE PRIVATE BATH COMPLEX.

EQUIPPED WITH ALL THE SAME FACILITIES AS THE PUBLIC BATHS,

EACH ROOM WOULD HAVE RAMPED UP THE TEMPERATURE.

BEHIND THIS WALL, WE CAN EVEN STILL SEE THE FURNACE

THAT CREATED THE HEAT,

CONSTANTLY FED BY A GANG OF SLAVES.

SLAVERY WAS AN INTEGRAL PART OF POMPEIIAN AND ROMAN SOCIETY,

COMPRISING ALMOST 25% OF THE POPULATION.

THIS BUSINESS ALONE WOULD HAVE HAD UP TO 50 SLAVES.

BUT WHILE THEY REMAIN ANONYMOUS,

AN INSCRIPTION FOUND IN THE PROPERTY

REVEALS THE IDENTITY OF THE OWNER.

Hales: WHAT’S SO FASCINATING ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR COMPLEX

IS NOT JUST WHAT A SHARP BUSINESS MIND

WAS CLEARLY AT PLAY HERE,

MASTERMINDING THIS WHOLE RESORT,

BUT THE FACT THAT IT WAS A WOMAN.

Narrator: THE LATIN INSCRIPTION NAMES HER AS GIULIA FELICE,

WHICH TRANSLATED MEANS "LUCKY JULIA."

AS A WOMAN SHE COULDN’T VOTE,

SHE WASN’T ALLOWED IN THE MEN’S SECTIONS OF THE LOCAL BATHS,

BUT SHE COULD BECOME A SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR--

LUCKY JULIA.

Hales: IT’S REALLY RARE FOR US

TO KNOW ABOUT SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSWOMEN

IN A SOCIETY WHICH WAS, OF COURSE,

DOMINATED AND RUN BY MEN.

Narrator: AND WHILE WE MIGHT IMAGINE HER

WELCOMING SOME OF THE MORE EXCLUSIVE CLIENTELE,

DR. SHELLEY HALES CAN REVEAL THAT JULIA KNEW

THAT TO MAKE REAL MONEY, SHE NEEDED TO SERVE THE MASSES.

BACK ON THE MAIN STREET, SHE HAD BUILT A TAKEOUT DINER.

Hales: THIS IS THE KIND OF BAR WE FIND THROUGHOUT POMPEII

ON THE MAIN BUSY ROADS,

TRYING TO GET PASSING TRADE, TO SELL FOOD AND DRINK

TO PEOPLE WHO WERE TRYING TO EAT ON THE GO.

Narrator: WITH THE FAST FOOD MARKET CORNERED,

JULIA DIDN’T NEGLECT THOSE WITH MORE TIME AND CASH.

THIS DINING ROOM OFFERS BOTH FORMAL DINING,

KNOWN AS A TRICLINIUM,

WHERE THE GUESTS WOULD RECLINE ON THESE BENCHES TO EAT,

AND A SIMPLE TABLE AND CHAIR FOR THOSE IN A HURRY.

IT SEEMS LUCKY JULIA CATERED FOR ALL TASTES AND BUDGETS.

Hales: IT JUST REFLECTS AGAIN THE INGENUITY OF JULIA FELIX

THAT THROUGHOUT THIS COMPLEX

SHE JUST PLAYS TO THE ASPIRATIONS

OF EVERY MEMBER OF POMPEIIAN SOCIETY,

WHATEVER THEIR POCKET AND WHATEVER THEIR STATUS.

Narrator: THE IRONY OF POMPEII IS THAT MOUNT VESUVIUS

WAS BOTH THE GREAT DESTROYER AND THE GREAT PRESERVER OF THE TOWN.

AS SUCH, WE DON’T HAVE TO GUESS

AT WHAT FOOD JULIA’S CUSTOMERS WERE EATING...

AS SOME OF IT HAS BEEN AS WELL PRESERVED

AS THE STREETS AND HOUSES.

Beard: LUIGI, CIAO. BUONASERA. CIAO, CIAO. BENE.

Narrator: THIS IS TRULY BEHIND THE SCENES AT POMPEII.

THE DELICATE FINDS STORED IN THIS ARCHAEOLOGICAL LABORATORY

ARE FAR TOO PRECIOUS FOR PUBLIC DISPLAY.

Beard: OH, WOW.

Narrator: PROFESSOR MARY BEARD HAS SPECIAL PERMISSION

TO EXAMINE SOME OF THE ANCIENT FOODSTUFFS.

Beard: THESE ARE POMEGRANATES AND ALMONDS.

THIS IS OLIVES,

AND THESE ARE VERY SPLENDID NUTS.

WHAT SORT OF NUTS ARE THEY?

I THINK WALNUTS, THEY’RE WALNUTS, I THINK.

Narrator: THESE FRAGMENTS CAN HELP US RECONSTRUCT

HOW ORDINARY POMPEIIANS WERE LIVING

RIGHT UP TO THE ERUPTION.

Beard: FIGS. THIS ISN’T POSH FOOD.

EVERYBODY’S EATING THESE.

IT’S A TURTLE SHELL.

WE HAVE TO IMAGINE THAT SOMEBODY HAD A GREAT FEAST OUT OF THIS.

LUIGI, WHAT ELSE HAVE WE GOT? LET’S SEE SOMETHING ELSE,

BECAUSE IT IS AN ALADDIN’S CAVE, REALLY.

BRING SOMETHING.

Narrator: THIS JAR IS FULL OF BITS

OF 2,000-YEAR-OLD ROTTEN FISH,

THE MAIN INGREDIENT IN A FAMOUS ROMAN SAUCE CALLED GARUM.

USED AS WIDELY AS KETCHUP TODAY, IT’S AN ACQUIRED TASTE.

Beard: OH, NO. INDEED WE HAVE SOME.

STILL MADE NEAR HERE, I CAN SMELL IT FROM HERE.

THIS IS...ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING.

I’M GOING TO DO IT AGAIN TO SHOW HOW VERY BRAVE I AM,

BUT UGH!

UGH!

WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT ROMAN DIET,

YOU’VE REALLY GOT TO THINK

EVERYTHING SMOTHERED WITH THAT STUFF!

Narrator: THIS LOAF OF BREAD WAS DISCOVERED STILL IN THE OVEN.

AND THE BAKER HAS EVEN LEFT HIS THUMBPRINT IN IT

AS A KIND OF MAKER’S MARK.

Beard: IS THIS A THUMBPRINT?

Luigi: IMPRONTA.

Narrator: IT’S AMAZING HOW A SIMPLE LOAF

CAN BRING US VERY CLOSE TO PEOPLE OF POMPEII.

Beard: IT ACTUALLY SHOWS YOU THAT KIND OF DISRUPTION

IN LIFE, TIME, TRAGEDY, DISASTER--

BECAUSE IT WAS AN ORDINARY LOAF, AND NOBODY EVER GOT TO EAT IT.

IT IS ACTUALLY FANTASTICALLY EXCITING

TO GET THIS CLOSE TO THIS STUFF,

BECAUSE YOU REALLY DON’T FIND THIS KIND OF SURVIVAL

FROM ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE ROMAN WORLD

APART FROM POMPEII.

Narrator: IN 79 A.D., THE BAKER WHO BAKED THIS LOAF

WOULD HAVE BEEN BUSY WITH CUSTOMERS

IN HIS THRIVING CITY OF 12,000.

YET NO ONE HAD ANY IDEA THAT A TIME BOMB JUST OUTSIDE POMPEII

WAS ALREADY COUNTING DOWN TO ZERO.

NEARLY 2,000 YEARS AGO THE ROMAN TOWN OF POMPEII

WAS COMPLETELY BURIED BY THE CATASTROPHIC ERUPTION

OF MOUNT VESUVIUS.

[RUMBLING]

[THUNDER]

NOW A ONCE-IN-A-GENERATION RENOVATION PROGRAM,

ALONG WITH AN UNPRECEDENTED FORENSIC STUDY,

IS REVEALING NEW SECRETS ABOUT BOTH THE TOWN AND ITS PEOPLE.

♪

♪

THIS BUILDING, WITH ITS LAVISH INTERIOR,

HAS BEEN OFF LIMITS FOR YEARS.

AT FIRST GLANCE IT LOOKS LIKE A GRAND PRIVATE RESIDENCE,

BUT THIS LARGE WATER TANK IS A CLUE

THAT ALL THE SPLENDOR HIDES A DIRTY SECRET.

THIS IS A RINSING TANK.

IT REVEALS THAT THIS ONCE PRIVATE HOUSE

WAS AT SOME POINT CONVERTED INTO THE LOCAL LAUNDRY.

FRENCH ARCHAEOLOGIST JEAN-PIERRE BRUN

DISCOVERS MORE RINSING TANKS

HAD BEEN CONSTRUCTED IN THE GARDEN.

Jean-Pierre Brun: THIS IS THE PLACE

WHERE THE MAIN PROCESS TOOK PLACE.

YOU CAN SEE THREE MAIN BASINS

FOR RINSING THE CLOTHES.

Narrator: THIS LAUNDRY WASN’T JUST WHERE POSH ROMANS

GOT THEIR TOGAS CLEANED,

IT WAS FOR THE INDUSTRIAL PROCESSING OF NEW RAW CLOTH,

WHICH ACCORDING TO RECORDS REQUIRED A NOXIOUS CONCOCTION

OF SULFUR, SODA AND FERMENTED HUMAN URINE.

Brun: WHEN URINE IS FERMENTED, IT CREATES CHEMICALS

THAT REMOVE THE GREASE FROM THE CLOTHES.

Narrator: THIS TOXIC AND BRUTAL PROCESS REQUIRED THE LAUNDERERS

TO TREAD THE CLOTH WITH THEIR BARE FEET.

A PAINTING FROM THE TOWN REVEALS

THIS JOB FELL TO THE MOST JUNIOR MEMBERS OF THE LAUNDRY.

Brun: THEY USED TO DO THIS JOB WITH YOUNG BOYS,

USUALLY YOUNG SLAVES.

IT WAS A VERY HARD AND NASTY JOB.

♪

Narrator: FAR AWAY FROM SUCH UNPLEASANTNESS,

IN THE CITY’S SOUTH, WE FIND SOME OF THE HOUSES

OF THE RICHEST AND MOST POWERFUL POMPEIIANS.

♪

THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPRESSIVE.

ITS 60 ROOMS COVER ALMOST 32,000 SQUARE FEET.

♪

LOCATED JUST A STONE’S THROW FROM THE CENTER OF TOWN,

AT THE REAR, IT HAD A VIEW TO DIE FOR,

RIGHT OVER THE BAY OF NAPLES.

YET WHAT’S MOST EXCITING IS WHAT LIES BENEATH.

AS OUR SCANS PEEL BACK THE LAYERS

OF THE UPPER FLOOR,

WE CAN REVEAL A REALM RARELY GLIMPSED IN ROMAN HISTORY.

SINKING THROUGH THE GROUND, WE FIND THE WORLD OF THE SLAVES,

UNTIL NOW, ONE OF THE MOST ELUSIVE

AND LEAST UNDERSTOOD PARTS OF ROMAN SOCIETY.

Wallace-Hadrill: THIS AREA IS VERY DARK,

AND IT’S JUST ILLUMINATED BY THESE LITTLE HOLES

COMING THROUGH THE CEILING.

THIS REALLY IS A SERVICE QUARTER.

SO YOU’VE GOT A KITCHEN HERE

AND THEN A WHOLE SERIES OF ROOMS FOR THE SLAVES.

Narrator: SLAVERY IN THE ROMAN WORLD WASN’T BASED ON RACE.

MOST SLAVES WERE EITHER NATIVE TO ITALY

OR DRAWN FROM EUROPE AND THE MEDITERRANEAN,

WHILE ONLY A RELATIVE FEW ORIGINATED FROM AFRICA.

IN A LARGE HOUSE LIKE THIS,

THE SLAVES WOULD HAVE DONE EVERYTHING

FROM THE COOKING AND CLEANING

TO THE GARDENING AND HOME IMPROVEMENTS.

TREATED LIKE MACHINES,

THEY WERE SILENT, NAMELESS, AND VIRTUALLY INVISIBLE.

Wallace-Hadrill: NOW, THIS IS NOT A BEAUTIFUL DINING ROOM

WITH FRESCOES ON THE WALL,

YOU DON’T INVITE YOUR FRIENDS DOWN HERE

FOR A NICE DINNER PARTY.

IT’S A RELATIVELY SMALL ROOM,

IT’S GOT CRUDE WHITE DECORATION ON THE WALLS,

AND IT’S GOT VERY LITTLE LIGHT, INDEED.

YOUR ONLY LIGHT SOURCE

IS A HOLE IN THE CEILING UP THERE.

IT’S EASY TO IMAGINE YOU COULD USE THIS

AS SLAVES’ QUARTERS,

AND WE CAN IMAGINE, CERTAINLY, SLAVES AT WORK DOWN HERE.

Narrator: POMPEII’S SLAVES WERE FORCED TO DO THE JOBS

NO ONE ELSE WANTED.

YET BECAUSE WE RARELY FIND ANY EVIDENCE OF THEM,

UP TO NOW, IMAGINING THEIR LIVES HAS ALWAYS BEEN GUESSWORK.

BUT WITH THE HELP OF OUR SCANS,

WE NOW CAN RECONSTRUCT SOME OF THE LIFE THEY MIGHT HAVE LED,

MAKING THIS NETWORK OF UNDERGROUND SPACES

A UNIQUE WINDOW

INTO A PREVIOUSLY UNSEEN PART OF POMPEIIAN LIFE.

LIKE THE SLAVES, LIFE FOR POMPEII’S POOR

IS ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT THINGS TO IDENTIFY.

YET THERE IS ONE CAST THAT HAS LONG BEEN BRANDED A BEGGAR.

THIS MISSHAPEN HAND

IS THOUGHT TO BE THE BAG HE USED TO COLLECT HIS HANDOUTS.

WHILE ON HIS RIGHT FOOT, THIS IMPRINT OF A SANDAL--

PERHAPS THE GIFT OF A GENEROUS BENEFACTOR?

IF HE WAS A BEGGAR,

WHAT WAS HIS LIFE LIKE BEFORE THE ERUPTION?

THIS RARE PAINTING FOUND IN POMPEII

DEPICTS A RESPECTABLE LADY WITH HER SLAVE

GIVING MONEY TO A FRAIL, OLD BEGGAR.

Wallace-Hadrill: IT’S AN OLD MAN WITH A STAFF,

AND AT HIS FEET, THERE’S A LITTLE DOG,

A SWEET, LITTLE DOG,

AND PRESUMABLY THE BEGGAR IS ASKING THE RICH LADY

FOR SOME MONEY FOR HIS NEXT MEAL.

Narrator: AS WE IMAGINE THIS SCENE,

IT RAISES AN INTERESTING QUESTION

ABOUT LIFE FOR POMPEII’S UNDERCLASSES.

IS IT BETTER TO BE A SLAVE, WITHOUT RIGHTS,

BUT WITH A ROOF OVER YOUR HEAD AND FOOD ON THE TABLE?

OR TO BE FREE AND POOR?

WALLACE-HADRILL BELIEVES THAT, WITH NO WELFARE SYSTEM,

SLAVERY MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN THE WORST FATE.

Wallace-Hadrill: IT’S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD TO BE A SLAVE,

AND YOU HAVE THE PROSPECT OF FREEDOM.

ACTUALLY THEY’RE PEOPLE WITH HOPE,

THEY’RE PEOPLE WHO CAN BE PROMOTED.

THEY CAN GET THEIR FREEDOM.

THEY CAN BECOME CITIZENS IN THEIR TURN.

THE BEGGAR HAS REACHED THE BOTTOM OF THE SOCIAL PILE.

IT’S WORSE TO BE WITHOUT MONEY THAN TO BE WITHOUT FREEDOM.

Narrator: IT WAS NOT UNCOMMON IN THE ROMAN WORLD

FOR SLAVES TO BUY THEIR FREEDOM,

OR TO BE REWARDED WITH IT FOR LONG, LOYAL SERVICE.

YET RICH OR POOR, SLAVE OR FREE,

ALL IN POMPEII WERE DESTINED TO SHARE THE SAME FATE.

LOCATED IN THE SHADOW OF VESUVIUS,

THE TOWN IS SITUATED IN A GEOLOGICALLY ACTIVE AREA.

EVEN IN ROMAN TIMES,

THE RESIDENTS WERE WELL USED TO REGULAR EARTH TREMORS

SHAKING THE TOWN AND ITS BUILDINGS.

YET LITTLE DID THEY KNOW,

THE TREMORS IN THE EARLY SUMMER OF 79 A.D.

FORETOLD A MUCH LARGER DISASTER.

[RUMBLING]

[BEEP]

Luyck: SEE IF YOU CAN HOLD IT PARALLEL.

[BEEP]

Narrator: BACK IN THE INVESTIGATION,

THE X-RAYS OF THE BEGGAR PROVE REVEALING.

THIS BLOB ON HIS LEFT HAND WAS THOUGHT TO BE HIS BEGGING BAG,

BUT IS NOW REVEALED AS NOTHING MORE

THAN A LARGE LUMP OF PLASTER.

Beard: IT CERTAINLY HAS NO COINS IN IT.

Lazer: NO.

Beard: SO, A BIT OF MISCASTING

ACTUALLY LAUNCHES THIS WHOLE MYTH

THAT THIS IS A BEGGAR.

Narrator: SO WITH ONE MYTH BUSTED,

CAN THE IMPRESSION OF THE SANDAL

REVEAL MORE ABOUT WHO THIS PERSON WAS?

Luyck: 1, 2, 3. [BEEP]

Narrator: THE X-RAY SHOWS IT IN MUCH GREATER DETAIL.

Beard: WHAT’S AMAZING HERE IS THAT YOU REALLY DO SEE

HOW SMART THEY ARE, DON’T YOU?

Lazer: YUP. AND THAT’S THE STRAP.

Beard: THAT’S THE STRAP.

Lazer: AND ACCORDING TO THE REPORTS,

IT HAD A SENSIBLE GRIP.

Beard: THAT SANDAL LOOKS TO ME, YOU KNOW, PRETTY POSH.

NEVER MIND THE PHILANTHROPIST,

IT’S MUCH MORE LIKELY THIS IS SOMEONE WHO’S REALLY QUITE RICH,

RICH ENOUGH TO HAVE NICE FOOTWEAR.

Narrator: THE SCANS HAVE NOT ONLY EXPOSED THE SANDAL,

THEY ALSO NOW REVEAL THE PERFECTLY INTACT FOOT BONES.

Lazer: THESE ARE BONES OF THE FOOT,

AND THIS IS THE LOWER LEG BONE, THE TIBIA.

Narrator: THE X-RAYS REVEAL SOMETHING

THAT WILL CHANGE OUR VIEW OF THIS CAST FOREVER.

Lazer: YOU CAN JUST SEE THE GROWTH PLATE

ON THE HEEL BONE.

Beard: WHAT’S A GROWTH PLATE?

Lazer: THAT’S THE PART WHERE THE TWO BITS OF BONE ARE SEPARATED,

AND THE GROWTH PLATE IS MADE UP OF CARTILAGINOUS BONE.

Narrator: IN A MATURE ADULT, THIS GROWTH PLATE

WOULD NORMALLY BE COMPLETELY FUSED AND CLOSED UP.

BUT SINCE LAZER CAN STILL SEE SEPARATION BETWEEN THE BONES,

IT TELLS HER THAT THIS INDIVIDUAL

IS MUCH YOUNGER THAN EXPECTED.

SO MUCH SO, THAT THE STORY OF AN OLD, FRAIL BEGGAR

MUST NOW BE REWRITTEN.

Beard: SO MY PICTURE OF THIS IS STARTING TO,

IT’S REALLY OVERTURNING WHAT, WHAT THE--

YOU KNOW, THE STANDARD BEGGAR IDEA.

Lazer: IT’S NOT AN OLD BEGGAR WITH A BENT BACK,

IT’S DEFINITELY A YOUNGER INDIVIDUAL,

POSSIBLY WITH THEIR OWN SANDALS.

Narrator: AS THE IMAGE OF OUR FRAIL, OLD BEGGAR FADES AWAY,

WE FIND YET ANOTHER VICTIM WHO SEEMS TO BE YOUNG AND FIT...

AND WITH IT, A MUCH CLEARER PICTURE

OF THE REAL POMPEII EMERGES.

THIS WAS THRIVING LITTLE TOWN, WITH A HIGH PERCENTAGE

OF THE YOUNG AND REASONABLY WELL OFF,

WHICH LEAVES US WITH A NEW MYSTERY.

WHY DID SO MANY OF POMPEII’S YOUNG AND HEALTHY

NOT FLEE THE ERUPTION WHEN THEY HAD A CHANCE?

WHAT COMPELLED THEM TO STAY AND ULTIMATELY PERISH

IN A CLOUD OF BURNING ROCK AND ASH?

POMPEII WAS A SMALL PROVINCIAL ROMAN TOWN

MADE FAMOUS BY THE VOLCANIC ERUPTION THAT DESTROYED IT.

BUT CLUES TO ITS CHARACTER AND PROSPERITY DO STILL REMAIN.

TODAY THE FAMOUS RUINS SIT ABOUT A MILE

FROM THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA

IN THE DENSELY POPULATED BAY OF NAPLES.

BUT 2,000 YEARS AGO,

BEFORE THE LANDSCAPE WAS ALTERED BY REPEATED GEOLOGICAL ACTIVITY,

SHIPS CAME RIGHT INTO TOWN.

Dicus: THESE BLOCKS HERE WITH THE HOLES

ARE THOUGHT TO HAVE ACTUALLY MOORED SHIPS.

THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA LAPPED UP AGAINST THIS WALL.

Narrator: THIS NOW QUIET LOCATION TO THE SOUTH OF THE CITY

WAS PROBABLY LINKED TO THE SEA

BY A MAN-MADE CANAL OR NATURAL ESTUARY.

THIS WAS THE TOWN’S BUSY MARINA,

WHERE MERCHANT SHIPS BROUGHT GOODS

IN AND OUT OF POMPEII.

Dicus: THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE SHOWS IMPORTED GOODS

COMING IN FROM ALL OVER THE MEDITERRANEAN--

POTTERY, DOMESTIC GOODS, LUXURY ITEMS.

EXPORTING WAS A CRUCIAL FACTOR FOR THE CITY.

CASH CROPS SUCH AS WINE AND OIL.

THE LIFE OF POMPEII WAS INEXTRICABLY LINKED

TO THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA.

♪

Narrator: TODAY EVIDENCE OF POMPEII’S MARITIME HERITAGE

IS FOUND ALL OVER THE CITY.

ITS ARCHAEOLOGICAL LABORATORY IS A TREASURE TROVE

OF THE MOST FRAGILE FINDS--

ITEMS THAT HAVE MIRACULOUSLY SURVIVED IN BUILDINGS AND HOUSES

ONCE BURIED UNDER TONS OF ASH AND ROCK.

Beard: THIS IS PART OF A VERY BEAUTIFULLY WOVEN NET

OF SOME ANCIENT POMPEIIAN FISHERMAN,

AND YOU CAN SEE JUST HOW BEAUTIFULLY WOVEN IT IS.

MORE DRAWERS TO EXPLORE.

Narrator: THESE ARE CONCH SHELLS,

WHICH, AFTER MAKING SOMEONE A GOOD MEAL,

HAVE BEEN RECYCLED AS ANCIENT TRUMPETS

USED IN THE THEATER TO ANNOUNCE THE PERFORMANCE.

Beard: WHAT YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO DO IS BLOW DOWN IT.

I’M NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO MANAGE THIS, BUT I’LL HAVE A GO.

[BLOWING]

I WAS CHEATING THERE, I’M AFRAID.

[BLOWING]

WELL, I CAN’T GET...

[BLOWING]

BLIND BIT OF NOISE OUT OF THIS THING,

BUT IT’S A NICE EXAMPLE OF THE SEA PRODUCING

ALL KINDS OF THINGS THAT POMPEIIANS ARE RECYCLING.

Narrator: EXCAVATIONS HERE HAVE SHOWN

THAT POMPEII DIDN’T JUST IMPORT GOODS.

LOCALLY PRODUCED ITEMS WERE EXPORTED ALL ACROSS THE EMPIRE.

ONE OF POMPEII’S MAJOR EXPORTS WAS ITS VERY OWN WINE.

OUR AERIAL SCANS CAN NOW REVEAL HOW EXTENSIVE PRODUCTION WAS.

THESE REPLANTED VINEYARDS EXTEND FOR MANY ACRES

ACROSS THE SOUTH OF THE CITY.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS USED THE SAME PLASTER CAST TECHNIQUE

USED ON THE VICTIMS

TO MAKE MOLDS OF THE ANCIENT VINE ROOTS

TO HELP IDENTIFY THE VARIETY OF RED GRAPE

THAT WAS ONCE GROWN HERE.

POMPEII’S WINE HAD A REPUTATION.

THE ROMAN WRITER PLINY CLAIMED IT WAS BEST AT TEN YEARS OF AGE,

BUT WARNED THAT IT COULD PRODUCE A FIERCE HANGOVER,

WHICH LASTS "UNTIL NOON THE NEXT DAY."

YET DISCOVERING THE EXACT TASTE OF THE WINE

HAS ELUDED EXPERTS FOR YEARS.

BUT THESE DISTINCTIVE WINE JARS, KNOWN AS AMPHORAS,

MAY HOLD A CLUE.

MADE LOCALLY FROM THE VOLCANIC SOIL AROUND VESUVIUS,

THEY WERE SHAPED LIKE THIS

SO THEY COULD BE EASILY STACKED IN SHIPS.

Brun: THESE AMPHORAE WERE POROUS,

SO THEY NEEDED TO BE COATED INSIDE WITH PITCH,

AND OF COURSE THIS PITCH GAVE A STRANGE TASTE TO THE WINE,

A TASTE OF SMOKE AND PINE RESIN.

BUT PROBABLY IT WAS NOT MORE...

IT WAS NO STRANGER THAN A SMOKY WHISKEY, FOR EXAMPLE.

Narrator: LIKE ALL PORT TOWNS, POMPEII HAD ITS SEEDIER SIDE.

AND AS THE SUN SETS,

WE CAN IMAGINE THAT SOME TRAVELERS TO THE CITY

MIGHT BE DRAWN TO THIS PART OF TOWN.

LOCATED CLOSE TO THE MARINA,

THIS IS POMPEII’S BROTHEL, THE LUPINARE.

WHILE THERE WERE PROBABLY MANY MORE ESTABLISHMENTS

LIKE THIS ACROSS TOWN,

ONLY THIS ONE ADVERTISED SO BLATANTLY.

GRAFFITI EXPERT DR. KATHERINE HUNTLEY

SEARCHES FOR EVIDENCE OF EXACTLY WHAT TOOK PLACE HERE.

Huntley: HERE’S A GOOD EXAMPLE OF A TYPICAL TYPE OF GRAFFITI,

A TYPICAL WORD, FUTUIT,

WHICH IS OFTEN TRANSLATED MEANING "TO HAVE SEX WITH."

IF YOU WANT TO REALLY REPRESENT THE SENSE

THE AUTHOR WAS TRYING TO GET ACROSS,

IT MEANS... IT MEANS I... SO-AND-SO HERE.

FUTUIT SUM HIC.

I DID THE ACTION HERE, I DID THAT HERE.

Narrator: THIS WALL NOW READS LIKE A GUEST BOOK,

THE CUSTOMERS RECORDING HOW MUCH THEY ENJOYED THEIR VISIT.

Huntley: THE GRAFFITI ARE IN THE PAST TENSE,

THE ACTION HAS HAPPENED,

AND SO IN SOME WAYS IT COULD BE THEY’RE JUST EXCITED,

AND THEY WANTED TO RECORD THEIR VISIT HERE,

AND IT ALSO COULD BE, TOO, THAT THE PROSTITUTES

WERE ENCOURAGING THEM TO AS SORT OF A WAY TO ADVERTISE.

LOOK AT ALL THESE PEOPLE WHO HAD A GOOD TIME HERE.

SORT OF LIKE AN INTERNET REVIEW SITE.

Narrator: WHILE IT SEEMS THAT MOST WHO VISITED

GOT WHAT THEY WERE LOOKING FOR,

THESE RECORDS ARE PERHAPS MISLEADING.

LOOKING AROUND THE BROTHEL,

YOU SEE THE BED CHAMBERS RESEMBLE PRISON CELLS.

AND FOR THE GIRLS WHO WORKED HERE,

SLAVES FORCED INTO THE SEX BUSINESS,

THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT THEY WERE.

SO PERHAPS THE GRAFFITI ISN’T TELLING US THE WHOLE STORY,

AS NO WOMAN WITH ANY OPTIONS IN LIFE

WOULD CHOOSE TO WORK HERE.

POMPEII’S LOCATION CONNECTED IT WITH TRADE ROUTES

TO REST OF EUROPE, AFRICA AND THE ORIENT.

AND IT WASN’T JUST GOODS THAT FLOWED IN AND OUT.

THERE’S ONE CAST THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THOUGHT OF

AS A FOREIGN VISITOR.

DISCOVERED MORE THAN 100 YEARS AGO,

IT WAS IDENTIFIED AS A MAN COMING FROM NORTH AFRICA.

TODAY HE IS KNOWN AS THE MOOR.

Lazer: THE IDEA WAS THAT IT WAS A RIVER PORT,

THAT THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN AFRICANS OR AFRICAN SLAVES

AND THAT THIS MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE REMAINS OF A SLAVE.

Narrator: SINCE THIS CAST IS TOO LARGE FOR OUR CT SCANNER,

THE TEAM USES THE PORTABLE X-RAY.

Middleton: WHAT ARE WE DOING?

Luyck: A LATERAL ON THE SKULL.

[BEEP]

Narrator: CAN OUR STUDY NOW FIND ANYTHING THAT WILL HELP PROVE

THE REAL IDENTITY OF THE SO-CALLED MOOR?

Beard: IS THERE ANYTHING IN THIS SKULL

WHICH SUGGESTS ETHNICITY AT ALL?

Lazer: NO, SADLY, MOST OF IT’S DISAPPEARED.

SO THIS AREA’S GONE.

THIS AREA’S GONE.

WE’VE GOT A BIT OF THE BONE AROUND THE EYE SOCKET.

AND INTERESTINGLY, THE FEATURES THERE ARE MORE CONSISTENT

WITH MALE THAN FEMALE.

Narrator: MANY OF THE BONES MAY BE MISSING,

BUT THE TEETH ARE PERFECTLY PRESERVED.

Lazer: THE TEETH ARE ACTUALLY QUITE GOOD.

THE WISDOM TEETH HAVEN’T ERUPTED YET,

AND THERE’S NO TOOTH DECAY AND THERE’S NOT MUCH WEAR,

SO THAT ALL SUGGESTS A YOUNGER RATHER THAN AN OLDER INDIVIDUAL.

Beard: SO, HE’S A YOUNG MAN,

BUT NO SUGGESTION THAT HE’S FROM NORTH AFRICA

LIKE IT’S USUALLY CLAIMED.

Narrator: WHILE ANOTHER LAYER OF MYTH IS PEELED AWAY,

LAZER HAS NOTICED AN UNEXPECTED PATTERN.

HAVING ALREADY STUDIED THE FAMILY, THE BEGGAR,

AND NOW THE MOOR,

ALL THE CASTS SEEM TO HAVE ONE THING IN COMMON.

Lazer: THEY CERTAINLY SEEM TO BE,

IN THE CASES THAT WE’RE LOOKING AT,

FAIRLY YOUNG INDIVIDUALS SO FAR.

Beard: ONE OF THE THINGS THAT’S OFTEN BEEN SAID

IS THAT THE YOUNG AND HEALTHY

WERE THOSE WHO ACTUALLY MANAGED TO CUT AND RUN AND GET AWAY,

AND THE PEOPLE THAT WERE LEFT

WERE THE PREGNANT LADIES AND GRANNY AND THE TODDLERS.

Lazer: AND THAT’S DEFINITELY NOT TRUE.

Narrator: A SURPRISE DISCOVERY, WHICH POSES THE QUESTION:

IF THEY WERE YOUNG AND FIT, WHY HADN’T THEY RUN?

IT’S A NEW MYSTERY

THAT CHANGES THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT THESE VICTIMS.

INSTEAD OF SEEING THEM AS THOSE WHO COULDN’T ESCAPE,

SHOULD WE LOOK AT THEM AS THOSE WHO CHOSE TO STAY?

AND WHAT OF THE CITY’S LEADERS? WHO WERE THEY?

DID THEY ESCAPE, OR DID THEY, TOO, FALL VICTIM

TO THE LOOMING DISASTER?

WHAT’S NOW CLEAR IS THAT DESPITE POMPEII’S SMALL SIZE

IT WAS INHABITED BY THE FULL RANGE OF SOCIAL CLASSES.

WE’VE MET SLAVES, PROSTITUTES, GLADIATORS,

AS WELL AS BUSINESS OWNERS AND EVERYDAY FAMILIES.

AND EVERY TOWN NEEDS ITS LEADERS.

AND POMPEII’S WERE A FAMILY WHO WOULD RIVAL DONALD TRUMP

IN TERMS SELF-PROMOTION.

THIS IS THE REMAINS OF AN ANCIENT POLITICAL BILLBOARD,

WHICH PROCLAIMS "VOTE FOR SATRIUS."

THE INSCRIPTION WAS MADE BY ONE OF POMPEII’S RICHEST FAMILIES,

THE VALENTES.

IN A BID TO TURN THEIR WEALTH INTO POLITICAL POWER,

THEY WROTE THEIR NAMES IN ENORMOUS LETTERS ALL OVER TOWN.

BUT LIKE ALL POLITICIANS, BIG WORDS WERE NEVER ENOUGH.

IN POMPEII THE BEST WAY TO GET THE ELECTORATE ON YOUR SIDE

WAS TO PUT ON A BIG SHOW.

THE VALENTES SPONSORED GRAND GLADIATORIAL GAMES

IN THE LOCAL AMPHITHEATER.

Wallace-Hadrill: YOU CAN SEE IN GIGANTIC LETTERS,

POMPA, THERE WILL BE A PROCESSION;

VENARTIA, THERE WILL BE A BEAST HUNT;

AND THERE’LL BE 20 PAIRS OF GLADIATORS.

THAT’S HOW TO GET POPULARITY.

[CROWD CHEERING]

Narrator: ACROSS TOWN IN THE HOUSE OF VENUS IN THE SHELL,

WE FIND EVIDENCE THAT THE VALENTES’ CAMPAIGNING

DIDN’T STOP WITH THE GLADIATORIAL GAMES.

♪

AS OUR SCANS NOW REVEAL,

THE LAVISH DECORATION OF THEIR OWN HOME

WAS ALL PART OF THEIR CAMPAIGN TO IMPRESS.

Beard: IT WAS HERE THAT THEY INVITED FELLOW BIGWIGS

TO WINE AND DINE, TO DINNER AND TO PARTIES.

THE RESTORERS ARE IN HERE NOW,

JUST LIKE THE PAINTERS AND DECORATORS MUST HAVE BEEN

2,000 YEARS AGO,

BECAUSE THE PROUDEST BOAST OF THE VALENTES

WERE THE PAINTINGS ON THEIR WALLS.

♪

Narrator: OUR LASER SCANS ALLOW US TO REALLY APPRECIATE

THE SPLENDOR OF THE 2,000-YEAR-OLD DECORATION,

SO MIRACULOUSLY PRESERVED BY THE VOLCANIC ASH.

THE VIVID COLORS AND ELABORATE ARTWORKS,

A BOLD STATEMENT ABOUT THE THEATRICAL NATURE

OF THE VALENTES.

AND NOW WE CAN IMAGINE THE PARTIES THEY THREW

IN THIS SUMPTUOUS COURTYARD.

Beard: AND IF YOU WERE LUCKY ENOUGH

TO COME HERE TO A SOIREE,

THE THING THAT WOULD REALLY HAVE CAUGHT YOUR EYE

WOULD HAVE BEEN THAT STRIKING IMAGE

AT THE OTHER END OF THE GARDEN.

Narrator: THIS IS THE GODDESS VENUS.

GODDESS OF LOVE, SHE IS SHOWN NAKED

AND RECLINING ON A SEASHELL, SURROUNDED BY CHERUBS.

IT’S AN EROTIC, STRIKING IMAGE

THAT MUST HAVE BEEN A TALKING POINT.

BUT EXAMINING THE VENUS UP CLOSE,

MARY BEARD THINKS SHE REVEALS SOMETHING

ABOUT THE VALENTES THEMSELVES.

Beard: FOR ME, ACTUALLY, IT’S ALL A BIT TOO THEATRICAL.

SHE DOES LOOK PRETTY STRIKING

FROM THE OTHER END OF THE GARDEN,

BUT WHEN YOU GET CLOSE, SHE IS REALLY A BIT CHEAP.

I MEAN, TO BE HONEST, YOU’D HAVE TO BE A GODDESS

TO GET YOUR LEG IN THAT POSITION!

MAYBE IT’S TELLING US SOMETHING ABOUT THE VALENTES,

A BIT MORE SHOW THAN SUBSTANCE?

Narrator: ALTHOUGH PERHAPS THE VALENTES CHOSE VENUS,

THE ROMAN GODDESS OF FERTILITY, BEAUTY AND SEX,

FOR MORE THAN HER TITILLATING QUALITIES.

Beard: VENUS WAS THE DIVINE PROTECTOR OF POMPEII.

♪

Narrator: YET NOT EVEN A GODDESS COULD SAVE POMPEII

FROM ITS DESTINY...

ALTHOUGH WE’LL NEVER KNOW IF THE VALENTES THEMSELVES

PERISHED IN THE DISASTER,

AS NO BODIES WERE EVER FOUND IN THEIR HOUSE.

PERHAPS THEY HAD RECOGNIZED THE WARNINGS

AND MADE THEIR ESCAPE,

AS NUMEROUS EARTH TREMORS HAD SIGNALED

THAT VESUVIUS WAS ABOUT TO EXPLODE.

YET POMPEII WAS A TOWN ACCUSTOMED TO THE EARTH SHAKING.

17 YEARS BEFORE THE ERUPTION, IN 62 A.D.,

THE TOWN WAS VIOLENTLY SHAKEN BY A MAGNITUDE 6 EARTHQUAKE,

DESTROYING AND DAMAGING SO MANY OF THE BUILDINGS,

THAT BY THE TIME OF THE ERUPTION,

SOME WERE STILL UNDER REPAIR.

THE FORUM BATHS LOCATED CLOSE TO THE MAIN SQUARE

STILL BEAR THE SCARS OF THE QUAKE.

THESE SUMPTUOUS BATHS HAD ONLY JUST BEEN REPAIRED

WHEN VESUVIUS ERUPTED.

PUBLIC BATHING WAS THE GREAT LEVELER.

HERE RICH AND POOR ALIKE WOULD HAVE COME TO RELAX NAKED

AND LET IT ALL HANG OUT...

FROM THE BUFF WORKERS TO THE BIG-BELLIED WELL-TO-DO--

ALTHOUGH THIS SECTION WAS MEN ONLY.

BUT AS OUR SCANS REVEAL, RIGHT NEXT DOOR

THE DISTINCTIVE BARREL-VAULTED ROOMS ARE REPEATED.

THIS IS ONE OF POMPEII’S HIDDEN SECRETS.

RECORDS FOUND IN THE TOWN

TELL US THIS WAS THE WOMEN’S BATHING SUITE.

CLOSED AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE OF 62 A.D., IT NEVER REOPENED.

TODAY IT’S AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL STORAGE ROOM.

Beard: I’VE NEVER ACTUALLY BEEN IN THE WOMEN’S BATHS BEFORE,

BUT ONE THING’S FOR ABSOLUTELY SURE,

THAT THIS WAS NOWHERE NEAR AS GRAND AS THE MEN’S QUARTERS.

Narrator: THE SIZE AND DECORATION OF THESE BATHS

HAS A LOT TO SAY ABOUT THE POSITION OF WOMEN

IN POMPEIIAN SOCIETY.

BUT THE STUFF IN HERE CAN ALSO REVEAL TO US

DETAILS ABOUT EVERYDAY POMPEIIAN LIFE.

Beard: THAT’S ANOTHER BIG ONE.

Narrator: PROFESSOR MARY BEARD HAS BEEN GIVEN

SPECIAL PERMISSION TO DIG AROUND.

Beard: THIS IS THE KIND OF STUFF YOU JUST FIND EVERYWHERE

IN HOUSES IN POMPEII--

IN THE KITCHENS, IN THE SERVANTS’ QUARTERS,

YEAH, IN THE BOTTOM OF CUPBOARDS.

Narrator: AMONG THE BRIC-A-BRAC OF EVERYDAY LIFE

IS THE REALITY OF THE HUMAN TRAGEDY.

THESE SHELVES CONTAIN OVER A HUNDRED SKULLS,

AND THIS WALL IS FULL OF BONES.

COLLECTED FROM ALL OVER THE TOWN DURING THE EARLY EXCAVATIONS,

THESE ARE THE REMAINS OF PEOPLE WHO COULDN’T BE CAST.

TODAY THEY ACT AS A VIVID REMINDER

OF THE HUNDREDS OF ANONYMOUS VICTIMS OF POMPEII.

EVERY ITEM HERE HAS ITS OWN STORY TO TELL

ABOUT POMPEII’S DESTRUCTION.

THIS GIANT PILE OF TINY PIECES OF STONE

IS THE REMNANT OF MOSAIC FLOORS,

SO PREVALENT IN POMPEII.

Beard: THE FUNNY THING IS

THAT THIS PRESUMABLY IS HOW YOUR MOSAIC FLOOR WAS DELIVERED

IN THE FIRST PLACE--

THE BUILDERS BROUGHT ROUND A WHOLE PILE OF THIS,

AND THEN THE LAYERS CAME

AND MADE IT INTO A BEAUTIFUL PATTERN.

Narrator: THESE LEAD PIPES WERE ONCE PART

OF THE TOWN’S LARGE AND ELABORATE PLUMBING SYSTEM.

Beard: THE TRUTH IS THAT RICH POMPEIIANS

WERE MORE CONCERNED

TO HAVE WATER DELIVERED TO THEIR FOUNTAINS

THAN TO THEIR LAVATORIES,

AND YOU CAN’T HAVE PIPES WITHOUT TAPS,

WHICH IS WHAT THESE ARE.

YOU CAN’T HELP THINKING THAT IT WOULD BE

A REALLY GOOD TOWN TO BE A PLUMBER IN.

[THUNDER]

Narrator: POMPEII DIDN’T JUST NEED PLUMBERS.

THE MAJOR EARTHQUAKE AND SUBSEQUENT TREMORS

KEPT THE TOWN’S PAINTERS AND DECORATORS IN PLENTY OF WORK.

♪

IN THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL LABORATORY

WE CAN STILL FIND SOME OF THE ORIGINAL PAINTS

THE DECORATORS USED 2,000 YEARS AGO.

Hales: THIS BLUE IS REALLY POPULAR

IN THE WEALTHY HOUSES OF THE CITY.

♪

HERE WE’VE GOT YELLOW...

SOME RED...

AND ALSO THIS EXTRAORDINARY PINK COLOR.

WHAT’S IMPORTANT ABOUT THESE COLORS

IS THEY TELL VISITORS TO HOUSES

SOMETHING ABOUT THE INCOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED THERE,

BECAUSE LOTS OF THESE PIGMENTS COME FROM OVERSEAS.

AND THAT MEANS IT MAKES IT MORE DESIRABLE,

MORE LUXURIOUS AND, OF COURSE, MORE EXPENSIVE.

Narrator: BUT ALL THE EXPENSIVE MATERIALS IN THE WORLD

COULDN’T SAVE POMPEII.

SOME OF THESE PAINT POTS WERE DISCOVERED ABANDONED

BY THIS HALF-FINISHED FRESCO.

♪

KNOWN TODAY AS THE HOUSE OF THE PAINTERS AT WORK,

THIS SCENE IS A GRAPHIC REMINDER

OF HOW EVERYDAY LIFE WAS SUDDENLY INTERRUPTED.

Wallace-Hadrill: ALL AROUND WERE FOUND LITTLE POTS OF PAINT,

AND COMPASSES, EVERYTHING YOU NEED

TO DO THE PRECISION WORK OF PAINTING.

Narrator: IT’S THOUGHT THAT WHEN THE WORKERS

FIRST HEARD THE RUMBLES OF THE ERUPTION,

THEY ASSUMED IT WAS JUST ANOTHER EARTHQUAKE.

IN AN ATTEMPT TO PRESERVE THEIR WORK,

THEY COVERED IT IN PLASTER,

PRESUMABLY HOPING TO RETURN TO IT LATER.

Wallace-Hadrill: YOU SEE HERE HOW THE FEET

HAVE BEEN SKETCHED OUT IN YELLOW,

AND PRESUMABLY THE WHOLE SCENE WAS DONE,

BUT THERE’S A SMEAR OF PLASTER THAT COVERS HALF THE SCENE.

ONE EXPLANATION IS THAT THE PAINTER

STARTS TO HEAR RUMBLES...

[RUMBLING]

AND HE THINKS TO HIMSELF, "OH, ANOTHER EARTHQUAKE.

MAYBE IF I PUT SOME PLASTER OVER IT, I’LL KEEP IT FRESH,

AND THEN I CAN GET BACK TO WORK."

Narrator: IN REALITY IT WOULD TAKE ALMOST 2,000 YEARS

BEFORE ANYONE WOULD RETURN TO THESE UNFINISHED FRESCOES,

AS THE TREMORS IN AUGUST 79 A.D.

WERE JUST A TASTE OF THE ULTIMATE CATASTROPHE.

[EXPLOSION]

♪

WITH POMPEII IN THE GRIP OF A MASSIVE RESTORATION PROGRAM

AND THE FORENSIC STUDY DRAWING TO A CLOSE,

OUR COMPLETED AERIAL MAP CAN NOW REVEAL THE SIZE AND SCALE

OF THE LOOMING DISASTER.

ALL OF THESE STREETS AND BUILDINGS

AND MORE WHICH STILL LAY HIDDEN

WOULD BE LOST IN A BURNING CLOUD OF ASH AND ROCK.

BUT OUR STUDY STILL HAS ONE SECRET TO EXPOSE.

WHY DID THE 1,600 OR SO VICTIMS OF POMPEII STAY PUT,

WHEN THOUSANDS OF OTHERS MANAGED TO FLEE?

CAN OUR FINAL PAIR OF CASTS HOLD THE KEY TO THIS MYSTERY?

THE EMBRACING COUPLE ARE PERHAPS POMPEII’S MOST MOVING CASTS...

FOUND IN 1914 DESPERATELY CLINGING TOGETHER,

OR SO IT SEEMS.

THEY ARE OFTEN THOUGHT TO BE TWO WOMEN--

PERHAPS A MOTHER WITH HER DAUGHTER

OR TWO SISTERS...

OR MAYBE JUST STRANGERS OFFERING COMFORT IN THEIR LAST MOMENTS.

♪

[SCANNER BEEPING]

Beard: THEY’RE FOUND TOGETHER.

IS THERE ANY CLUE ABOUT WHICH IS THE OLDER

AND WHICH IS THE YOUNGER?

Lazer: WELL, THIS ONE WAS PRESUMED TO BE THE YOUNGER ONE

JUST BECAUSE OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BONES.

AND THE TEETH ARE NOT OF A VERY OLD PERSON,

SO THEIR WISDOM TEETH AREN’T ERUPTED.

Narrator: ONCE AGAIN THE VICTIMS OF POMPEII

TURN OUT TO BE YOUNG AND FIT.

AND WHAT’S EVEN MORE INTRIGUING ARE THESE FEATURES ON THE SKULL.

KNOWN AS SUTURES, THEY INDICATE

WHERE THE BONES OF THE SKULL FUSE TOGETHER.

COMPARING HER FINDINGS

WITH PREVIOUS STUDIES OF SKELETONS IN POMPEII,

DR. ESTELLE LAZER DRAWS A VERY TELLING CONCLUSION.

Lazer: ABOUT 20% OF POMPEIIANS APPEAR WITH AN EXTRA BONE HERE

AND ABOUT 35% ON THIS SIDE AND 39% ON THAT SIDE,

SO THEY’RE POPULATION MARKERS,

AND WHAT IT TELLS US IS THAT THIS PERSON

WAS SHARING THE SAME ENVIRONMENT WHEN GROWING UP.

♪

Narrator: THIS TELLS LAZER

THAT NEARLY 40% OF THE VICTIMS STUDIED AT POMPEII

ARE PERHAPS NATIVE TO THE CITY--

A SURPRISING RESULT FOR A BUSY PORT TOWN.

Beard: WHAT IT’S SUGGESTING THEN

IS THAT WE’VE GOT AT LEAST A GOOD NUCLEUS OF PEOPLE HERE

WHO ARE POMPEIIANS, BORN AND BRED.

Narrator: SO NOW WE FINALLY HAVE A CLEARER PICTURE

OF WHO THE REAL VICTIMS OF POMPEII WERE.

PERHAPS THEY WERE LOCALS, LIKE THE EMBRACING COUPLE.

NATIVE TO POMPEII,

THEY JUST COULDN’T FACE FLEEING THEIR HOMETOWN,

EVEN AS THE GIANT VOLCANO TURNED THE DAY INTO NIGHT.

THE TINY TODDLER, AT JUST THREE YEARS OLD,

ITS LIFE CUT SHORT,

ALONG WITH ITS YOUNG PARENTS AND SIBLING,

AND WITH OTHERS, LIKE THE MOOR AND BEGGAR--

NOT WHAT THEY SEEM.

PERHAPS THESE, TOO, WERE BORN AND BRED HERE,

ALL RELUCTANT TO FLEE THEIR HOMES AND BUSINESSES

BECAUSE THEY SIMPLY HAD NOWHERE ELSE TO GO.

NOW THROUGH THE EFFORTS OF THESE SCIENTISTS,

WE HAVE MORE INCREDIBLE INSIGHTS ABOUT THESE SILENT WITNESSES

TO ONE OF THE GREAT CALAMITIES IN HUMAN HISTORY.

Lazer: THEY’RE ORDINARY PEOPLE, WE DON’T KNOW THEIR NAMES,

WE DON’T NECESSARILY KNOW WHAT THEY DID FOR A LIVING,

BUT THEY’RE LIKE US.

AND I THINK THAT’S THE MOST COMPELLING THING AT ALL.

IT DOESN’T MATTER THAT THERE’S A 2,000-YEAR GAP BETWEEN US.

THEY’RE VERY, VERY EASY TO RELATE TO,

AND I THINK THE FACT THAT THE BONES ARE IN THERE

IS A SLIGHTLY SOBERING THING,

AND IT REMINDS PEOPLE

THAT THEY REALLY ARE LOOKING AT THE REMAINS OF HUMAN BEINGS.

Narrator: 2,000 YEARS AFTER ITS DESTRUCTION,

POMPEII IS REVEALING MOVING TALES OF LIFE AND DEATH

IN A ROMAN CITY.

RICH AND POOR, YOUNG AND OLD, THEIR STORIES OF DAILY LIFE

ARE PRESERVED IN THE SHADOW OF THE GREAT VOLCANO, VESUVIUS.

Wallace-Hadrill: IT’S REAL LIFE, IT’S REAL PEOPLE,

AND YOU GET IT WITH A VIVIDNESS IN THIS SITE

THAT YOU CAN GET NOWHERE ELSE.